UBI is Universal Basic Income. It is sometimes called Unconditional Basic Income. It is a regular cash payment, paid periodically to everyone, on an individual basis, irrespective of the recipient’s income or wealth.
It has three core characteristics:
- It is provided to every individual without exception (universal).
- It is sufficient to cover all necessary expenses (basic).
- It is provided in cash, on a periodic basis, forever (income).
It is important to note that, unlike welfare, it is provided without exceptions. This means that:
- It is provided without means-testing.
- It is provided without any conditions.
- It is provided without reference to prior contributions.
- It is provided irrespective of prior work history.
- It is provided regardless of current employment.
Some have tried to complicate the definition by debating the definitions of the words universal, basic and income. For example, there are arguments that universal should be restricted to a defined population group, which would exclude non-citizens, non-residents, recent migrants, foreign nationals and/or convicted criminals. However, any attempt to restrict payments to avoid paying those that may be “undeserving” will inevitably exclude (even if only briefly) those that would be classified as “deserving”. More importantly, it stops it from being universal, which is one of the key benefits of UBI: eliminating the costs of determining and policing who “deserves” it. Universal means everyone – no exceptions. It’s far more important to ensure that nobody is missed. We need to focus on finding and helping those that don’t know how to register, are incapable of registering, or face challenges receiving their UBI.
Similarly with the word basic. Some have stated that a basic income can in principle both fall short of and exceed whatever level of income is deemed sufficient to cover a person’s basic needs. However, irrespective of our individual, subjective definitions of our needs, if UBI is not above the defined poverty level, it cannot be called basic. Some assert that “an affordable UBI would be inadequate, and an adequate UBI would be unaffordable”. This makes for a good sound bite, but it assumes that UBI will operate in isolation, use an existing tax base and have no additional benefits. How affordable UBI is will be discussed in a future article, but suffice it to say that global GDP is now over $100 trillion! That’s over $10,000 per person per year (poor and rich countries included). The problem is not whether we can afford it, the problem is: “How do we ensure that everyone gets their fair share?” Personally, I believe that UBI will be so successful and provide so many additional benefits that, irrespective of the initial “basic” income we provide to everyone, we will soon all be pushing for it to be increased.
Finally, some have argued that it should be provided in the form of tax credits, vouchers, negative tax rates, etc. However, UBI must be provided in the form of cash; either, straight into your bank account, if you have one, or in cash, if you don’t have one. It should not depend on completing a tax return and you should not have to wait to receive the benefit at some distant, unknown future date. It should not restrict what you can purchase with it, by limiting it to food or rent in the form of vouchers. And, most importantly, it should not be for a limited time period. It must be a stable, dependable source of income that you will be able to rely on forever.
There are many arguments against UBI, and this website has been created to address those arguments. If you are against UBI, if you disagree with the definition of UBI, or if you don’t believe UBI will benefit you personally, then please let us know. We would love to hear from you.