UBI - THE UNCONDITIONAL HANDOUT

In recent years, the idea of a universal basic income (UBI) has attracted global interest as a way of targeting poverty and pre-empting the impact of likely job losses through automation. Put simply, it’s a system where the government gives a set amount of money to each citizen each month unconditionally – no means-test, no work requirements. The intention is to replace welfare payments and create an equalising platform, while reducing red tape and welfare stigma. With advocates including Richard Nixon and Martin Luther King, UBI has had a resurgence thanks in part to Silicon Valley VCs and countries like Finland, which has conducted its own UBI experiment. Many doubt the concept's effectiveness, but advocates say it could be a better way of bringing people out of poverty by incentivising work rather than reducing state payments when work is found. They also say it would improve mental and physical health and education, give them the opportunity to invest in their lives and pursue meaningful work, and it would value unpaid community work.