I'd also point out that not having to work has the potential to decrease expenditures quite a bit.
For starters, the post itself assumes that if you don't have to work, transportation costs decrease quite a bit. Keep in mind that people who have a hard time finding work often travel farther to find work or hold down multiple part-time jobs instead of one full-time job, which increases transportation costs. If you're living in the Bay Area and have to commute every day, e.g., San Jose to San Francisco, a Caltrain + MUNI monthly pass works out to an extra $300 / month in expenses that you wouldn't have to spend if you weren't working.
In addition, the fact that you don't have to work gives you more flexibility in choosing where to live -- if you're not concerned about employment, you can live where the cost of living was cheapest.
We're also assuming that that basic income will always be guaranteed. One reason the federal minimum wage might be considered too low is that it doesn't leave any income left over to save for unemployment, retirement, or other scenarios where your income source is lost. That becomes irrelevant if everyone gets a guaranteed income.
Finally, simply having an extra 8+ hours of free time each day makes it a lot easier to optimize your costs. You have more time to plan your meals, to research and compare prices on every kind of expenditure, to exercise and minimize long term health costs, etc.
For starters, the post itself assumes that if you don't have to work, transportation costs decrease quite a bit. Keep in mind that people who have a hard time finding work often travel farther to find work or hold down multiple part-time jobs instead of one full-time job, which increases transportation costs. If you're living in the Bay Area and have to commute every day, e.g., San Jose to San Francisco, a Caltrain + MUNI monthly pass works out to an extra $300 / month in expenses that you wouldn't have to spend if you weren't working.
In addition, the fact that you don't have to work gives you more flexibility in choosing where to live -- if you're not concerned about employment, you can live where the cost of living was cheapest.
We're also assuming that that basic income will always be guaranteed. One reason the federal minimum wage might be considered too low is that it doesn't leave any income left over to save for unemployment, retirement, or other scenarios where your income source is lost. That becomes irrelevant if everyone gets a guaranteed income.
Finally, simply having an extra 8+ hours of free time each day makes it a lot easier to optimize your costs. You have more time to plan your meals, to research and compare prices on every kind of expenditure, to exercise and minimize long term health costs, etc.