Universal Basic Income Pros and Cons (2024)

Last updated on:4/3/2024 |Author:ProCon.org|MORE HEADLINES

Some consider the stimulus payments from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic to be a sort of “emergency UBI.” Those payments, however, were not unconditional, but instead were calculated based on individual or family income. [59]

1. Should the United States implement a Universal Basic Income? Why or why not?

2. Should cities or states implement Universal Basic Income? Why or why not?

3. What other economic polices to reduce poverty would you enact? Explain your answers.

4. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? If so, how? List two to three ways. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the “other side of the issue” now helps you better argue your position.

5. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives.

1.Evelyn L. Forget, "The Town with No Poverty," public.econ.duke.edu, Feb. 20112.Johannes Haushofer and Jeremy Shapiro, "The Short-Term Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers to the Poor: Experimental Evidence from Kenya," princeton.edu, Apr. 25, 20163.John McArthur, "How Many Countries Could End Extreme Poverty Tomorrow?," brookings.edu, June 1, 20174.Caroline Lucas, "These Are the Simple Reasons Why a Basic Income for All Could Transform Our Society for the Better," independent.co.uk, Jan. 15, 20165.May Bulman, "French Socialist Presidential Candidates Back Universal Basic Income of £655 a Month for All Citizens," independent.co.uk, Jan.17, 20176.Luke Kingma, "Universal Basic Income: The Answer to Automation?," futurism.com (accessed July 6, 2017)7.Basic Income Grant Coalition, "Pilot Project," bignam.org, 20148.Christopher Blattman, et al., "Generating Skilled Self-Employment in Developing Countries: Experimental Evidence from Uganda," ssrn.com, Nov. 14, 20139.Alicia H. Munnell, "Lessons from the Income Maintenance Experiments: An Overview," bostonfed.org, Sep. 198610.Robert B. Reich, "Why We'll Need a Universal Basic Income," robertreich.org, Sep. 29, 201611.Greg Mankiw, "News Flash: Economists Agree," gregmankiw.blogspot.co.uk, Feb. 14, 200912.Scott Santens, "Universal Basic Income as the Social Vaccine of the 21st Century," medium.com, Feb. 5, 201513.Oren Cass, "Why a Universal Basic Income Is a Terrible Idea," nationalreview.com, June 15, 201614.SEWA Bharat, "A Little More, How Much It Is... Piloting Basic Income Transfers in Madhya Pradesh, India," unicef.in, Jan. 201415.Robert Greenstein, "Commentary: Universal Basic Income May Sound Attractive But, If It Occurred, Would Likelier Increase Poverty Than Reduce It," cbpp.org, May 31, 201616.Noah Zon, "Would a Universal Basic Income Reduce Poverty?," maytree.com, Aug. 201617.Elizabeth Anderson, "Forum Response: A Basic Income for All," bostonreview.net, Oct. 1, 200018.Robert Whaples, "Skeptical Thoughts on a Taxpayer-Funded Basic Income Guarantee," The Independent Review, Spring 201519.Isabel V. Sawhill, "Money for Nothing: Why a Universal Basic Income Is a Step Too Far," brookings.edu, June 15, 201620.Raine Tiessalo, "Free Money Provokes Some Finns to Slam Basic Income as 'Useless'," bloomberg.com, Feb. 8, 201721.Kela, "Experimental Study on a Universal Basic Income," kela.fi, Feb. 16, 201722.Jason Koebler, "100 People in Oakland Will Get Free Money as Part of a Basic Income Experiment," motherboard.vice.com, May 31, 201623.Marc Joffe, "Universal Basic Income: An Idea Whose Time Should Never Come," thefiscaltimes.com, Apr. 3, 201724.Andreas Mogensen, "Why We (Still) Don't Recommend GiveDirectly," givingwhatwecan.org, Feb. 27, 201425.Guy Standing, "How Cash Transfers Promote the Case for Basic Income," guystanding.com, Apr. 200826.Philippe Van Parijs, "A Basic Income for All," bostonreview.net, 200027.Olivia Goldhill, "All of the Problems Universal Basic Income Can Solve That Have Nothing to Do with Unemployment," qz.com, Apr. 24, 201628.Canadian Medical Association, "National Support for a Basic Income Guarantee," cloudfront.net, 201529.Malcolm Torry, Money for Everyone, 201330.Philippe Van Parijs, "Basic Income and Social Justice: Why Philosophers Disagree," jrf.org.uk, Mar. 13, 200931.Poverty and Social Exclusion (PSE), "Benefit System Riddled with 'Stigma'," poverty.ac.uk (accessed July 25, 2017)32.David R. Henderson, "A Philosophical Economist's Case Against a Government-Guaranteed Basic Income," independent.org, 201533.Charles Wyplosz, "Universal Basic Income: The Contradictions of a Simple Idea," parisinnovationreview.com, Dec. 8, 201634.Swiss Federal Council, "'Unconditional Basic Income' Popular Initiative," admin.ch, June 201635.Rachel Slater, "Cash Transfers, Social Protection and Poverty Reduction," odi.org, Mar. 200836.Allison Schrager, "Why You Need a Healthy Amount of Uncertainty in an Economy," qz.com, Nov. 16, 201337.Luke Martinelli, "Exploring the Distributional and Work Incentive Effects of Plausible Illustrative Basic Income Schemes," bath.ac.uk, May 201738.Damian Hinds, "Universal Basic Income," hansard.parliament.uk, Sep. 14, 201639.Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), "Basic Income as a Policy Option: Technical Background Note Illustrating Cost and Distributional Implications for Selected Countries," oecd.org, May 201740.GiveWell, "GiveDirectly: Supplementary Information," givewell.org (accessed Aug. 24, 2017)41.John Kay, "The Basics of Basic Income," johnkay.com, Apr. 5, 201742.Thomas A. Husted, "Changes in State Income Inequality from 1981 to 1987," journal.srsa.org (accessed Sep. 5, 2017)43.Kirby B. Posey, "Household Income: 2015," census.gov, Sep. 201644.Michalis Nikiforos, et al., "Modeling the Macroeconomic Effects of a Universal Basic Income," rooseveltinsitute.org, Aug. 201745.Kimberly Amadeo, “What Is Universal Basic Income?,” thebalance.com, Aug. 19, 202146.Sigal Samuel, “Everywhere Basic Income Has Been Tried, in One Map,” vox.com, Oct. 20, 202047.Robyn Sundlee, “Alaska’s Universal Basic Income Problem,” vox.com, Sep. 5, 201948.Alaska Department of Revenue Permanent Fund Dividend Division, “Summary of Dividend Applications and Payments,” pfd.alaska.gov (accessed Feb. 22, 2021)49.Genevieve Wojtusik, “Department of Revenue Announces 2020 Permanent Fund Dividend,” alaska-native-news.com, June 13, 202050.Matthew Smith, “Universal Basic Income Could Improve the Nation’s Mental Health,” theconversation.com, Apr. 27, 202051.Salil B Patel and Joel Kariel, “Universal Basic Income and Covid-19 Pandemic,” bmj.com, Jan. 26, 202152.Anna Coote and Edanur Yazici, “Universal Basic Income: A Union Perspective,” world-psi.org, Apr. 201953.Yelena Dzhanova, “Why Andrew Yang’s Push for a Universal Basic Income Is Making a Comeback,” cnbc.com, July 29, 202054.David Tal, “Universal Basic Income Cures Mass Unemployment,” quantumrun.com, Sep. 14, 202055.Nicholas Eberstadt and Evan Abramsky, “What Do Prime-Age 'NILF' Men Do All Day? A Cautionary on Universal Basic Income,” ifstudies.org, Feb. 8, 202156.Guy Standing, “Gender Inequality in Times of COVID-19 — Give Women Cash,” en.unesco.org, Apr. 17, 202057.Ryan Hughes, “Universal Basic Income Is a Bad Idea,” bulloakcapital.com, July 26, 202058.State of Alaska: Department of Revenue, “Permanent Fund Dividend,” pfd.alaska.gov (accessed Apr. 2, 2024)59Logan Ward, “The Pros and Cons of Universal Basic Income,” college.unc.edu, Mar. 10, 2021

FAQs

Universal Basic Income Pros and Cons? ›

Universal Basic Income (UBI) reduces poverty and income inequality, and improves physical and mental health. A UBI set at $1,000 per adult per month and $300 per child per month would eradicate US poverty entirely, according to Scott Santens…

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What is the $1000 per month universal basic income program? ›

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Why are people against universal basic income? ›

What are the main points of criticism against UBI? MacKay: A big one is a reciprocity worry — that in order to get access to public benefits, you should be at least willing to participate in the labor market. Think of the earned-income tax credit. That's a cash transfer that goes to low-income Americans.

What are the arguments in favor of universal basic income? ›

Proponents of UBI argue that such a policy, if implemented, would alleviate poverty and bolster income security, with positive ripple effects on physical and mental health. Fiscally, UBI may also represent a reduction in the cost of administering means-tested social safety net programs.

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Is UBI bad for the economy? ›

However, while funding UBI through consumption taxes is feasible, this policy leads to lower output, capital, and aggregate labor in the long run. Despite this, there is increased consumption and higher average welfare, as well as a modest rise in the formal sector's share.

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What states pay universal basic income? ›

The areas that have been trialing UBI programmes

Birmingham, Alabama.
Phoenix, Arizona.
Compton, California.
Los Angeles, California.
Long Beach, California.
Mountain View, California.
Oakland, California.
Santa Clara County, California.

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Aug 16, 2023

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Who benefits from universal basic income? ›

It treats everyone equally. People with higher incomes pay more taxes than people with lower or no incomes – in both absolute and in relative terms. The minimum subsistence level is guaranteed to everybody, and people with no income receive net transfers.

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Would UBI replace Social Security? ›

According to political scientist Charles Murray, a guaranteed universal income of $10,000 a year could potentially eliminate need-based programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, agricultural subsidies, and corporate welfare.

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Would rich people get universal basic income? ›

The UBI does not invent passive income. It merely doles it out evenly to everyone in society, rather than in very concentrated amounts to the richest people in society.

Would an UBI cause inflation? ›

Drawbacks of a Universal Basic Income

One major issue with a universal basic income, raised by those who oppose such a practice, is inflation. It's easy to see how the institution of a UBI may fuel inflation. If every individual is granted an unconditional income from the government, then there is money to be spent.

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What is better than UBI? ›

Far more compelling than UBI is 'UBS', or the idea of 'universal basic services' currently being developed by economists at London University's Global Prosperity Institute. Their goal is 'public services that enable every citizen to live a larger life' by ensuring access to security, opportunity and participation.

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Does UBI discourage work? ›

UBI can't solve those underlying problems and could quite possibly make them worse by discouraging work. Data from studies in the U.S. in the late 1960s and early 1970s show that guaranteed income programs caused a clear reduction in labor-force participation.

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Which country has a universal basic income? ›

As of 2024, no country has implemented a full UBI system, but two countries—Mongolia and Iran—have had a partial UBI in the past. There have been numerous pilot projects, and the idea is discussed in many countries. Some have labelled UBI as utopian due to its historical origin.

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How would UBI affect taxes? ›

Income received from the CalUBI Program shall not be considered taxable income for the purpose of state income taxes, and shall not be considered in calculating any state tax credits. Income received from the CalUBI Program shall not affect income eligibility for any programs administered and funded by the state.

What are some arguments against having a basic income? ›

There Is No Welfare Utopia

The UBI creates the illusion of decreasing the welfare state when the facts of the matter all point to the contrary. Everyone would like to live in a society where no one wanted for anything and everyone was provided for.

What is the universal basic income program? ›

Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to work.

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How much is the UBI payment? ›

The programs, which are required to provide at least 50% in private matching funds, will pay participants $600 to $1,200 a month for 12 or 18 months.

What is money for everybody exploring universal basic income? ›

Exploring Universal Basic Income : A Guide to Navigating Concepts, Evidence, and Practices. Universal basic income (UBI)—defined as a transfer that is provided universally, unconditionally, and in cash—holds an attractive promise of change across many lines.

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Who qualifies for UBI in Georgia? ›

To be eligible, their income must be less than twice the federal poverty level, which amounts to $40,880 for a family of two. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to keep up with all things Housing and Democracy related in metro Atlanta.

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