What is Universal Basic Income?

• Universal Basic Income (UBI) refers to a government implemented policy wherein every adult citizen receives a certain fixed amount of payment on a regular basis.
• It is proposed with the aim of a guaranteed payment to all serving as much needed assurance to those in or at risk of total poverty
• The amount decided upon by the government to give to every citizen could vary.
• Schemes vary in size but can include providing each citizen with a living wage, or a smaller amount to top up their income and ensure they have at least enough money for the most essential items like food.
• It is universal in that every citizen would be eligible to receive payment, regardless of ability, employment, living circumstances etc. unlike many current social security benefits.
• The idea of UBI is not new - schemes have dated back to the 16th Century
• Advocates come from the left and right of the political spectrum, ranging from tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg to libertarian economist Milton Friedman to former labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to Pope Francis who have all endorsed it.

Pros

• Eradicates problems with determining eligibility for the current benefits system.
• Payment is automatic and citizens do not have to apply or prove anything, a process which has been described as 'dehumanising' in today's system.
• In addition to the removal of stress caused by means-tests, it eradicates stress about the conditionality and uncertainty about whether support will be withdrawn.
• Destigmatization of social security support.
• Security and stability for all.
• [Pope Francis](would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal, at once so human and so Christian, of no worker without rights.”) states it "would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal [...] of no worker without rights.”
• More equal method of providing financial aid.

Cons

• Many historically criticized schemes such as the Speenhamland System for allowing employers to get away with paying their workers lower wages since the UBI payment would make up for the difference.
• Concerns that it will incentivise people not to work.
• Could cost a large proportion of the governmental budget.

Past and Proposed Schemes

• Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang proposed that every American adult could receive $1,000 per month from the federal government.
• Libertarian philosopher Charles Murray proposed a $10,000-per-year UBI, as well as basic health insurance, which he says would allow the government to cut Social Security and other redistribution programs.
• Martin Luther King, Jr., proposed “guaranteed income” in his book Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? published in 1967.
• In 2011, Iran rolled out a nationwide unconditional cash transfer program equal to roughly 29% of the median household income of the country. Despite the aforementioned concerns about the effect on work incentive, economists found that “the program did not affect labor supply in any appreciable way.”
• A complete map of recent UBI schemes can be found here

I see no point in adopting a UBI. I am for helping low-income citizens to get good jobs and education opportunities. But I do not believe that a middle school janitor should make the same amount as the nation's top brain surgeon. Though it does not always work out, people tend to get out of a career what they put into it. And I understand that some people just are not as lucky as others are. But that is no reason to limit the success of those that are lucky just so that they are equal with the unlucky ones.