Summary: Basic income advocates often encounter the objection, “We can’t afford it!” To counter that objection convincingly, they need to address several key questions:
- What resources can a basic income draw upon? Which existing income support programs would be rendered unnecessary if an adequate basic income were in place?
- How would a basic income mesh with other social programs, especially health care, child care, and social security?
- Who would be eligible for a UBI? The entire population? Citizens only? Adults only?
- Does an adequate basic income have to be generous enough to raise everyone out of poverty by itself, or would something less than that be enough?
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In search of a baseline UBI?
To many people, a universal basic income (UBI) sounds like a good idea — until you start thinking about whether we could afford it.
Robert Greenstein, President of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, is no enemy of robust government programs to help the poor, yet he is an outspoken critic of a UBI. Affordability is Greenstein’s number one concern. He argues that giving a UBI of $10,000 a year to the entire U.S. population of 327 million people…
