UBI, the Unknown Ideal
A new book on universal basic income argues for us to "give people money." Sounds good. But a lot of old questions about how to do it are still left unanswered.
A “shotgun house” in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Darrell Miller / Flickr)
“Give People Money,” proclaims the title of a new book by Annie Lowrey touting the merits of Universal Basic Income (UBI). I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been writing in this vein myself for some time.
The question of how still looms, however. And like other UBI appeals, Lowrey’s book doesn’t provide good answers.
The burden of the argument for Left proponents of UBI is to demonstrate why a UBI is the best way to pursue a national income guarantee. The idea that there should be some kind of guarantee is, within the Left, not in question. The key tenets of UBI’s claim to supremacy are:
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