A basic income check would be a heckuva lot cheaper than all the redundant programs the Feds, states, counties, and cities run. Think of the bureaucracy we could get rid of. It’ll never happen.
But that check would be ADDITIVE, because once the recipient has blown through the check on their favorite vice, we’d still be stuck feeding, clothing, doctoring, and housing them.
So, while I hear the efficiency argument, that efficiency is turned directly into cash, which will just make the drug cartels extra happy.
We won’t turn our backs on the heroin addict who just shot up his monthly check. We’ll still go house him. So the only thing that will happen is the cash distributed will go directly to vices.
A basic income check will not replace any program ... it will be in addition to those.