The Flawed Arguments That Claim Basic Income is Unethical

If you’ve been on social media sites and argued in support of Basic Income, you may well have found that nearly all of the most vehement opposition to Basic Income comes from people who are themselves relatively wealthy.

Now, it doesn’t usually take much reading between the lines to appreciate where their opposition to the idea most likely comes from.

They probably see themselves as taxpayers and as people who’ve worked hard to get where they are today. They may have a very nice house and a nice car and a decent amount of money in shares and in various savings accounts, but they believe they fully deserve their wealth. They earned it, they say.

And what these people are worried about is the prospect of paying more tax. They’re at the wealthier end of the income distribution spectrum and they fear that the Basic Income they’ll receive will be significantly less than the extra taxes they’ll be paying, if a Basic Income system is introduced.

And this is all perfectly understandable. Basic Income may be good for society as a whole, but if anyone feels their personal financial position might worsen if Basic Income is introduced, it’s no surprise that they might then harbour a certain amount of negativity towards the idea.