Press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Washington, DC (June 13, 2016) — The idea of giving a lump sum to Americans instead of drips of welfare benefits over the years was greeted with skepticism in 2006 when Charles Murray first proposed it in his book “In Our Hands.” Yet, 10 years later, some European countries are doing just that.

On June 5, Switzerland held a national referendum on an “Unconditional Basic Income.” Finland is developing a trial program to grant 10,000 of its citizens a monthly income in lieu of benefit programs, and in the United Kingdom, Members of Parliament have been asked to consider a universal basic income.

In a revised and updated edition of “In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State” (AEI Press, June 2016), political scientist and bestselling author Charles Murray demonstrates that a universal basic income (UBI) of $10,000 in disposable income per year for all Americans above the age of 21 would solve problems that the $2 trillion we now spend on government transfers cannot solve.

• Involuntary poverty would be ended. More than one out of eight Americans still lives in poverty. Under the UBI, it would be not only possible but easy for all American adults to be above the poverty line.

• For workers, not just retirement, but comfortable retirement. Most people are aware what a bad deal Social Security is. The UBI would make it easy even for low-income workers to reach retirement with an income that lets them enjoy life, not just survive.

• Making work too profitable to stop. Murray takes on the most obvious objection to a guaranteed income: Wouldn’t it lead millions of people to leave the work force? Not if it is done right. Personal income has no effect on the UBI until that income reaches $30,000, at which point the UBI grant is taxed incrementally up to $60,000 — ensuring that the UBI never falls below $6,500. At no time does it make sense for individuals to abandon these levels of income. The key is to leave the UBI untaxed until people are already making so much money that they have no incentive to quit their jobs.

• Reintroducing the right incentives for the underclass. Today, having a baby brings income streams and in-kind benefits that would not exist without the baby. Under the UBI, having a baby represents demands on an existing income stream — as it should. Under the UBI, no man can escape paying child support for children he has abandoned. It is deducted from his UBI before he can get his hands on it.

• Reinvigorating communities and families. The UBI will undoubtedly lead mothers in many intact families to leave work to spend more time raising their children and doing the things that make communities work. This form of work disincentive is a feature of the UBI, not a bug.

• Doing all this is already cheaper than the current system, and we are looking at unsustainable increases in Social Security and Medicare over the next decade. A UBI is not just the best choice for achieving our shared goals, but within a few years, it will be the only affordable one.

With new material to reflect the policy changes of the past decade, notably the Affordable Care Act, Charles Murray suggests that there is no better moment for citizens to consider an overhaul of the current welfare state. It is time, he proposes, to put the future of all Americans back “in our hands.”

Charles Murray is the W. H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. For interview requests, or for a copy of the book, please contact Meg Cahill at [email protected] or 202.862.7155.

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