Exactly. And there is nothing stopping a group of people right now from forming up and, enforced by contract, giving basic income to all members by taxing those that make money.
If it were such a great idea for a country, it would have already occurred at a smaller level.
> If it were such a great idea for a country, it would have already occurred at a smaller level.
It has. The Svanholm community in Denmark (http://svanholm.dk) raised taxes to 80% for all its members, but in return you free housing, food and all other essentials. They have been doing this successfully since the 70's.
"It requires personal energy, commitment and desire for self-management in the community to become Svanholmer. Both people with work "out of town" and people who want to work at home on the estate can participate."
This doesn't sound like they just hand out money, and seems likely (I'm just guessing here), that if you don't work you may get kicked out.
If it were such a great idea for a country, it would have already occurred at a smaller level.