How We Could Pay for a Universal Basic Income
And not be rendered bankrupt in the process
All too often debate over Universal Basic Income (UBI) — the idea that each member of society should be entitled to an unconditional cash handout — falls into the mire of costs and dollars.
It’s only natural that in the minds of most people such an unprecedented and comprehensive policy become instantly equated with economic unfeasibility. If the real cost of a UBI is not carefully unpacked, an examination of how we could pay for such scheme never begins and the conversation stops at the piggy bank.
Social possibilities are constrained by economic conditions, this much is true. However, more often than not new social policies face more resistance from political rigidity and a lack of imagination than from our inability to fork out the necessary dollars.
As a society we can choose what to do with our collective wealth, but this fact is often obscured by political agendas and vested interests that benefit from maintaining the status quo. Politicians and business hawks tout the imposibility of building more hospitals, investing more into education or introducing a basic income while under the radar they strive to provide tax-breaks that benefit the rich and grant large corporations billion dollar subsidies to dig up the…
