Efficiency Is Everything

If you're thinking of a UBI that allows people to live a comfortable life without working, yeah that doesn't seem possible. But if you're thinking of a UBI that prevents homelessness and hunger, it seems possible.

Let's say we set the bare minimum at 1000$ per month.

That gives us 1000$ * 260,000,000 adults * 12 months ~= 3 trillion$ per year. That's around half of the federal government spending for 2023. I know 1000$ doesn't seem like a lot but if you live in a low density area with roommate(s) and eat a lot of rice[0], it's do-able. Of course, living in a costly area wouldn't be possible for people who solely survive on UBI. The UBI could even be upped to 1,500$ and still leave government with 1.5 trillion to spend.

[0] https://efficiencyiseverything.com/calorie-per-dollar-list/

I would like to see more efforts like this:

* https://efficiencyiseverything.com/calorie-per-dollar-list/

* https://efficiencyiseverything.com/The-Cookbook-v-1.4.pdf

* https://efficiencyiseverything.com/Weekly_Groceries.pdf

Honestly, it is not that expensive to cook at home. The "foodie" industry fills the Internet with recipes that are complicated and expensive, and this can definitely be a barrier for people who don't know how to cook. But once you learn to avoid recipes with 10+ ingredients, it's actually less of a time commitment than running out for fast food, as long as you have ingredients on hand.

Once you know what you like and you always have your staples available, it becomes almost automatic. It does take time to learn this and develop your own system, however.

I love this type of list. I'm frugal, super busy (read: lazy), and powerlift so I try to make a minimum-cost, high-protein, easy meal-prep every week. Having a high protein / calorie ratio is primary, but keeping it low-cost is a close second. I normally use a pressure cooker, 5-6 lbs of chicken breast, brown rice, and lots of veggies. It may sound boring, but it's great when you add stuff like chickpeas, delicious sauces / salsas, and try out different regional styles of cuisine. Check out the author's protein / dollar list - it's very helpful for the protein-obsessed.

https://efficiencyiseverything.com/applying-protein-per-dollar/

My understanding is that fresh foods are cheaper than processed/unhealthy foods according to this website:

https://efficiencyiseverything.com/food-nutrition-per-dollar/

I suppose the counter to that is that you could drink oil, but that is a bit unrealistic.

Something to consider is that not all fresh foods are equal. Lettuce is way healthier and cheaper than imported raspberries that need to be basically overnighted to maintain freshness.

Seems like eating healthy is an education problem. Although even as myself, who I consider educated in the manner, I find myself overeating healthy foods out of hedonism and putting on weight.

> see your own data points for the many Veg's that have a ton of protein, on a cheaper basis than many meats

Not really:

https://efficiencyiseverything.com/applying-protein-per-dollar/

> but maybe not more than a larger serving of Spinach, which is considerably cheaper

While 100g of spinach almost has as much protein as 100g of milk, it's also 3 times more expensive.

> The theme of this branch of the thread is that 'poor people can't afford to eat healthy' due to things like cheaper fast food' etc. - which is rubbish.

I don't disagree with you.

Cheerful meat-eater here. I think that, if you got your protein through legumes, that would be even cheaper than eggs. It would probably mean rearchitecting your food in general rather than using drop-in replacements.

One website says that the cheapest eggs on its list (Costco) are 70 grams of protein per dollar, while the cheapest beans (pinto) are 80 grams per dollar, and lentils are 116 grams per dollar. Hmm, that difference is smaller than I expected. https://efficiencyiseverything.com/calorie-per-dollar-list/