Universal Basic Income: What Everyone Needs to Know® [Kietas viršelis]

"Imagine getting $500 from the government, every month, deposited into your bank account. Once received, the money would be yours to do whatever you want with. You could buy groceries, pay for rent or childcare, save it, or blow it all in one big night out. How would a steady stream of income like that change your life? What if everybody in your society got it? How would it change our world? The idea you've just imagined has a name. Or, rather, it has several names. Some people call it a "guaranteed income." Others call it a "basic income." In this book, we'll adopt the most common label used today-a Universal Basic Income, or UBI for short. As we'll see in this book, the UBI is an idea that's been around for a long time-at least since the 18th century. But there has never been more interest in the idea than there is today. In 2016, Switzerland became the first country ever to hold a nationwide referendum on the UBI. The measure was defeated by a large margin, but this event would turn out to be just thebeginning of a global wave of interest in the UBI. The Swiss referendum was followed quickly by pilot programs in Finland, the Netherlands, Scotland, and Ontario. In the United States, a UBI was the central policy proposal of Andrew Yang's 2020 presidential campaign. Yang's campaign attracted a horde of passionate followers-the "Yang Gang" as they were called-and sparked a nationwide conversation about the merits of a UBI. Today, many of those individuals have gone on to push for a UBI or other forms of cash transfers in different venues. Some are working with the organization Yang founded-Humanity Forward-to advocate a permanent extension of the fully refundable child tax credit-a kind of "UBI for kids." Others are working with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, an organization that is currently sponsoring more than 40 different pilot programs in cities across the United States, from Los Angeles, California, to Providence, Rhode Island"--

From Finland to Kenya to Stockton, California, more and more governments and private philanthropic organizations are putting the idea of a Universal Basic Income to the test. But can the reality live up to the hype?

The motivating idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) is radically simple: give people cash and let them do whatever they want with it. But does this simple idea have the potential to radically transform our society? Is a UBI the ultimate solution to the problem of poverty? Is it the solution to automation-induced unemployment? Can it help solve gender and racial inequality?

This book provides the average citizen with all the information they need to understand current debates about the UBI. It recounts the history of the idea, from its origins in the writings of 18th century radical intellectuals to contemporary discussions centered on unemployment caused by technological advances such as artificial intelligence. It discusses current pilot programs in the United States and around the world, including how much (or little) we can learn from such experiments about how a large-scale UBI would fare in the real world. It explores both the promises and pitfalls of a UBI, taking seriously the arguments of both supporters and detractors. It also explains why the UBI has attracted supporters from all across the ideological spectrum--from conservatives to liberals, libertarians to socialists--and what the implications of this fact are for its political future.

How much would a UBI cost? Who would be eligible to receive it? Would it discourage work? Would people squander it on drugs and alcohol? Would it contribute to inflation? And how is it different from existing social welfare programs? This book provides an objective, expert guide to these questions and more, and is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand what could be the 21st century's most important public policy debate.