Free markets as you describe don't exist, unregulated markets end up with power imbalance, monopolies, and exploitation. That's the "free market" in action.
I feel like I'm lecturing basic economics which is odd because you seem to have done some reading, I wonder if you are just choosing the bits you like the sound of eg Anti government control.
I also think you're making out the gov to be smarter and more capable than it actually is. It's not like one individual mastermind with a grand plan.
In the UK this is mostly down to house prices being propped by foreign ownership and private landlords. That's the "free market" in action completely crippling first time buyers. It doesn't balance itself out, the rich get richer and the divide is widened. It's not the gov doing that, it's individuals wanting to earn more money. In Germany the gov actually helped by introducing rent caps, I wish the same happened here.
Bitcoin is disruptive to the establishment but I don't see it being the Lord and Saviour you make it out to be. I could be wrong on this, it's an exciting time.
Anyway, back to UBI, I know Canada hasn't put it in place but they're closest and the fact it's being discussed at that level is important. It isn't backroom theory anymore.
There are going to be bad players in any fiat system. Can't avoid it. So I agree with you that a free market can't exist with fiat.
But, on a Bitcoin standard monetary system, where the rich and powerful don't get first access to newly created money, the massive global conglomerates can't afford to exist. They rely on Wall St and the gov manipulating the fiat, and bailing them out. And the banks don't get to do whatever they want.
Bitcoin incentivizes playing by the rules. It just won't be profitable to try to cheat that system.
When you fix the money, the effects trickle through every aspect of the economy. Large corporations get strangled by their own inefficiencies. You'll see a movement back toward more local smaller economies. Mom and pop stores will begin to come back because they'll be able to compete again. And that will allow the general public to choose those instead. That's when a true free market can work, when the people actually get to vote with their money.
As for me thinking that govs are smarter than they are, it's not that. There will come a day, possibly sooner rather than later, that these gov officials are going to see the writing on the wall. At that point, it's not even about anything sidious, it'll be about survival.
Not sure about UK, but US congress doesn't have term limits, so we have career politicians. If the USD gets replaced as the global reserve currency by Bitcoin, you're looking at complete chaos. Corporations will have no choice but to cut most, if not all, of their lobbyists, which will mean most of the senators and house reps will be taking major cuts to not only their campaign contributions, but also their kickback payments. So at that point, they're going to have to decide if it's even worth it for them to stay in office. Most of them have/had successful businesses/careers before running for office, making far more than their political office salary. They don't go into politics for the peanut salary.
So when Bitcoin threatens their meal ticket, which it does, they will absolutely put up a fight, regardless of party affiliation. They will come together to try and stop it. Some already are. Some are publicly supporting it, just for votes, while they privately are against it.
But make no mistake, they will fight tooth and nail to keep grasp of their power.
Corporations have had to switch their investment strategies towards residential property because of how bad fiat has become. They realized the better ROI was in property instead of the previous investments they used to do, like stocks, bonds, and treasuries.
If gold weren't so difficult and expensive to move and protect, they'd buy that, because it's a more sound investment than anything linked to fiat. More and more financial and investment firms are starting to buy Bitcoin because it has all the positives of gold without the negatives.
So I'm a realist, not a pessimist. And I'm for small gov, not anti-gov. Just anti this current form of gov, because it only works for the elite few at the top. And there's no such thing as trickle-down economics.
That's why Bitcoin brings hope. It's a bottom-up technology, bringing the power back to the masses. As a yank, I've been brought up being taught the history of the US escaping the feudal British empire, valuing personal freedoms (disappearing as they are). Maybe Brits are just so used to being ruled by the elite few that it doesn't resonate with them the same way. No disrespect, just an idea.
Canada is the perfect example of all that I've been saying! The Canadian gov has already shown it's hand when they financially attacked the truckers of the blockade. Their citizens now know their gov is not out for their best interests. The gov will do whatever it wants to keep their power and control.
And what disrupted those attempts to cut the trucker's money off? Bitcoin
So it does not surprise me at all that
that gov would be the one actively researching UBI.
economictimes.indiatimes.com
www.ubiworks.ca
www.ubilabmanchester.org
