But that's different from basic income. The idea with basic income is that you shouldn't fear dying of hunger and being homeless because you literally can't pay, but at the same time you will have to work if you want that plasma TV and iPhone on top of your basic survival money. Basic income should give everyone just about enough to survive and pay rent, but not enough to have a high quality life that most people want.
Food and shelter are limited resources which cannot be given freely. If the cost is not remunerated to the provider (in this case government) it imposes an unsustainable burden on the provider to find new resources. There are only so many houses that can be built on this planet and only so many people willing to do it.
