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(Last Updated On: May 25, 2020)

First, what is universal basic income (UBI)? UBI is an unconditionally given amount of money to all citizens. In the US, the figure most commonly discussed is $1,000/month to everyone who is 18 years or age or older. Sounds crazy, right? Here’s more:

Check out these videos for an introduction to UBI:

Basic income, explained

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Basic Income for the U.S.

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How #UBI Will Make America Even Better

Boost the economy – much of this money will be spent right away in the US economy. 61% of Americans can’t afford a $1,000 emergency expense.* Many Americans live pay check to pay check. For these people, this $1000 would serve as emergency funds and would likely be spent largely on everyday expenses and consumer goods. The majority of UBI funds will go right back into the American economy in the form of groceries, utilities, dining, Amazon orders, and Netflix subscriptions.

Prisons/reducing crime – a person would lose UBI if they go to prison, so it’s a $1,000/month incentive to not commit crime. Though it won’t eliminate crime, for many people loosing their $1,000/month check could be a reason to not commit crime.

Once sentenced and in prison, people will want to be on good behavior to get out sooner – the longer the prison sentence the more UBI payments will be missed.

UBI should reduce recidivism. Many people get out of prison with very few resources to get started again. It can be hard to find a job when a person has a record. By giving people fresh out of prison the money to get started again, UBI should help make people less likely to return to crime.

Leaving Domestic Violence and Abusive Situations -- with $1,000 coming a month, people in abusive situations will have money to leave. Especially in circumstances where only one partner is the wage earner.

Providers report that 40% of homeless youth are #LGBT If we had a universal basic income then we could eliminate that problem entirely. Many gay youth are kicked out of their homes by unsupportive families. We can do better. #UBI is the quickest and best way. — Heidi for Oregon (@HeidiBriones) February 25, 2020 Heidi Briones, a congressional candidate in Oregon’s 1st district calls out the LGBT benefits of UBI.

Illegal Immigration – it’s likely only legal participants in a society will receive UBI. This is a massive incentive for people to immigrate legally and for those in a country illegally to legitimize themselves by paying taxes and taking formal steps towards residency and citizenship.

Retail, driving, and manufacturing jobs are going away.** These are big employers representing billions in annual wages. UBI will not replace these wages, but it will ease transitions. The extra money will help people pay for bills and necessities if they are laid off. It could also help finance a move to another area with more jobs.

Health and Wellness is likely to improve. When Finland tested UBI on those who were unemployed it sadly didn’t increase employment. It did however increase health and wellness.

Seems like a profoundly good outcome of #ubi to me: "The basic income recipients of the test group reported better well-being in every way.”https://t.co/21gjhrceUW — Nathan Corliss ✌️🧢 (@oakfive) February 10, 2019

A major downside of UBI is payday loans and predatory lending. Having more cash on hand — cash that’s ongoing could be used as collateral to take out loans for frivolous things or necessary things. Though famous UBI proponent Scott Santens and candidate for US President, Andrew Yang have the opposite take.

Yes. Postal banking would also be extremely useful as the means of making sure everyone can receive the Freedom Dividend into a fee-free bank account. And the evidence in regards to the effect of UBI on payday loans is very positive. Moneylenders hate it.https://t.co/kjjOeoXHcp — Scott Santens🧢 (@scottsantens) March 24, 2019

It would be a shame if people use UBI to fund rampant consumerism. Vices like drug use and gambling could also increase.

The beauty of UBI though is choice. People will get to do with the money what they want which could mean taking out bad loans, or spend the money on gambling, however, adding conditions to the money increases regulation, in turn increasing the costs of administering the program which could make it untenable. The unconditional nature of the money is why many of the above benefits are anticipated to be realized.

Epilogue

Want to learn more about basic income? Check out these info and resources:

Scott Santens – is one of the most prolific writers about UBI right now. He primarily publishes articles and analysis on Medium.

He sent me this follow up to this article shortly after I wrote it. Thank you, Scott.

Thanks for writing about UBI!



A couple comments:



UBI and the imprisoned is a debate to have. For example, the non-violent could be enabled to do house arrest and thus would be on their dime, not ours.



Payday loan lenders hate UBI.https://t.co/kjjOeoXHcp — Scott Santens🧢 (@scottsantens) February 16, 2019

Andrew Yang – is a democratic presidential candidate who is running with UBI as his core platform. He was on episode 1245 of the Joe Rogan podcast in a two hour long discussion on the topic. Andrew Yang calls UBI the “Freedom Dividend,” and asks why can’t all American’s get a reward for participating in one of the most successful countries in the world.

This is actually crazy. @AndrewYang has moved the needle an insane amount on this. https://t.co/CN6xgwQUsZ — Krystal Ball (@krystalball) January 27, 2020

Dave Chappelle in Ames with @AndrewYang: “You take a poll in Dayton and say what would you rather have, $12,000 a year or health insurance? Everyone’s taking the money. Health insurance is great, but groceries are necessary too.” pic.twitter.com/XJZY4Bexmr — Iowa Starting Line (@IAStartingLine) January 29, 2020 Dave Chapelle discusses his endorsement of Andrew Yang, and UBI’s anticipated impact in his community, Dayton, Ohio.

Women for UBI on why a basic income should be done prior to a job guarantee program.

Rutger Bregmen, also speaks extensively about UBI. Here’s his TED talk on the topic:

Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash | Rutger Bregman

Watch this video on YouTube

Additional reading from qz.com: We talked to five experts about what it would take to actually institute Universal Basic Income

Citations

*Martin, E. (2018, January 18). Only 39% of Americans have enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency. Retrieved February 15, 2019, from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/18/few-americans-have-enough-savings-to-cover-a-1000-emergency.html

**Winick, E. (2018, January 25). Every study we could find on what automation will do to jobs, in one chart. Retrieved February 15, 2019, from https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610005/every-study-we-could-find-on-what-automation-will-do-to-jobs-in-one-chart/