TANSTAAFL.

As you may or may not know, depending on how much anarchist sci-fi literature you consume, “TANSTAAFL” is an acronym meaning “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.” But while TANSTAAFL may have been popularized by Robert Heinlein in his 1966 classic, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, at base it’s just a reformulation of the age-old historical wisdom that nothing advertised as “free” is ever really free. As anyone ever suckered into a high-pressure timeshare pitch on the basis of a “free weekend getaway” offer will know, there is always a hidden cost to any “free” item.

So when one particular “free lunch” idea is being pimped by a rogue’s gallery of tyrants and billionaires—from Nobel warmonger Barack Obama to rabid eugenicist Bill Gates to Facebook founder Mark Zucker-borg to serial scammer Elon Musk—you might want to ask yourself what the real cost of this manna from heaven is.

And which “free lunch” idea am I referring to, exactly? Why, universal basic income (UBI), of course.

Learn more about the UBI swindle and watch James’ report on the post-flood clean up in western Japan in this week’s subscriber newsletter. Not a member yet? For full access to the subscriber newsletter, and to support this website, please become a member.

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