Characters in the Star Trek universe often claim that their future Earth has abolished money. Everyone gets what he needs and nobody works for money.

Unfortunately, they never explain how it may work. Clearly, not everyone can afford to own a starship.

A more reasonable scenario is that everyone is provided a basic income. This income is probably sufficiently large that nobody has ever to worry about poverty.

Many people in Switzerland think that this is a good idea. Though it sounds outrageously expensive at first, one should realize that a basic income for all makes many government programs obsolete: family allowances, welfare, unemployment benefits, housing subsidies, pensions, minimum wage, student help and so on. Many economists tell us that we can indeed afford it.

Moreover, a basic income for all has several major benefits: