I WAS left confused by Tom Gordon’s remarks ("Crisis requires fresher ideas than universal basic income", The Herald, April 11) on a universal basic income (UBI). He is looking for a big response, but not as big as UBI. He complains that the £100 per week figure hasn’t been updated for inflation, but Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) has only increased from £72.40 to £73.10, and sick pay is also still under £100 at £95.85. So £100 UBI would still be a significant increase on both, even if not quite as generous as six years ago. £200 per week would obviously be better for equality, but more disruptive.

More worrying is Mr Gordon’s complaint that people would be taxed by 27p on the first pound that they earn. He seems unaware that today someone claiming Universal Credit might not be taxed, but they only benefit by 33p for every pound they earn, because the UC payment is steeply tapered in a bureaucratic process of checking a claimant's recent earnings every week. But somehow the infamous Laffer Curve argument that people won’t bother to work if their marginal tax rate is too high is only applied to the rich.