Universal Basic Income

The now-ended presidential bid by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Andrew Yang brought his cornerstone issue — a universal basic income (UBI) — into mainstream conversation in the United States. Yang argued that a UBI is needed to address income disparity, stagnant wages and job losses from automation. He proposed providing a “freedom dividend” of $1,000 a month to every U.S. citizen over 18. Yang is the latest in a long line of politicians, economists and philosophers of various ideological stripes, ranging from Renaissance social philosopher Sir Thomas More to Republican President Richard M. Nixon, who have supported the idea of a guaranteed income. And pilot projects to assess the feasibility and impact of such programs are ongoing or scheduled to start soon across the United States and the globe. Surveys show increased support for universal income, especially among the young, but critics say such programs would bust the budget and discourage people from working. Others warn that if such plans replaced existing safety-net programs, they would end up benefitting the middle class but hurting the poor.