This "experiment" is a sham in many ways, both in design and the reporting:
* The researchers call it "guaranteed income". That's somewhat accurate, because it's $500 extra payment, no questions asked. But it's not in any way "basic income", or "universal basic income" which is how it's being reported.
* It's paid for by an organization (SEED) which claims the thing it's seeking to prove. (That no-questions-asked welfare improves peoples moods.) The result is pre-determined.
* Just 120 low-income people are receiving an additional $500/month. This is far from Universal Basic Income: No income test, enough money to survive on, and no other gov support.
* SEED is making unsupported claims about how the money is getting spent (only on wholesome, necessary items). They can't assert that, however, because they're not tracking the _rest_ of the subjects' spending. They also did not track the subjects' spending before the intervention. Thus, they cannot rule out "lifestyle inflation".
* The study methods specifically allow for 25 subjects to be used for "political" purposes during the study, for interviews on TV, etc.
* The researchers call it "guaranteed income". That's somewhat accurate, because it's $500 extra payment, no questions asked. But it's not in any way "basic income", or "universal basic income" which is how it's being reported.
* It's paid for by an organization (SEED) which claims the thing it's seeking to prove. (That no-questions-asked welfare improves peoples moods.) The result is pre-determined.
* Just 120 low-income people are receiving an additional $500/month. This is far from Universal Basic Income: No income test, enough money to survive on, and no other gov support.
* SEED is making unsupported claims about how the money is getting spent (only on wholesome, necessary items). They can't assert that, however, because they're not tracking the _rest_ of the subjects' spending. They also did not track the subjects' spending before the intervention. Thus, they cannot rule out "lifestyle inflation".
* The study methods specifically allow for 25 subjects to be used for "political" purposes during the study, for interviews on TV, etc.
Sources:
1. seed | Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration https://www.stocktondemonstration.org/
2. SEED Pre-Analysis Plan https://www.stocktondemonstration.org/wp-content/uploads/201...