Matt Zwolinski, “Our welfare system insults the poor. Basic income could do better”

Many Americans still believe that poverty represents an individual’s moral failure, and so they often oppose “handouts” to the poor. Matt Zwolinski, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of San Diego, argues in a Washington Post article that a Universal Basic Income (UBI) is more consistent with preserving the poor’s dignity than America’s current approach with strings attached.

Zwolinski said that individuals know their needs better than the government does. Thus, providing them the freedom to choose how to spend their money through a basic income will increase the effectiveness of the social safety net.

Recent empirical evidence from Brazil, Uganda and Mexico show cash grants improve the lives of the poor, the article points out.

Matt Zwolinski, “Our welfare system insults the poor. Basic income could do better” Washington Post, Sept. 28, 2015.