Friedberg cites research showing happiness plateaus at $60k income but correlates with year-over-year income change above that level.
“at the time, it improved up to $60,000 of income a year Right. Then it flatlined beyond And then the the the key measure of happiness was income change year over year.”
Friedberg explains happiness research showing year-over-year income change matters more than absolute wealth for human satisfaction.
“the key measure of happiness was income change year over year. The more your income changes from one year to the next, the happier you are.”
Friedberg argues happiness requires relative progress not absolute income, so UBI will inevitably cause societal decay.
“So the notion of some sort of flatlined or even flatlined at inflation adjusted basic income level for a large number of people will inevitably result in kind of what we're trying to prevent, which is, you know, some sort of decay, societal decay.”