What if States implement guaranteed income programs? Jolley Examines the Impacts of UBI Pilot Programs on State Economies

Soomi Lee (Blog Editor) Basic income pilot programs have garnered attention, with initiatives like the SEED program in Stockton leading the way. These programs, often studying the effects on individuals' financial and mental wellbeing, have…

The false promise of conditional social policies (Mandatory Participation on Trial, Part 11)

Source: Christopher Weyant, New Yorker Cartoons As my book, Universal Basic Income: Essential Knowledge, discusses, the traditional approach to poverty and inequality relies on conditional programs designed to make most forms of aid…

Marginal Tax Rates and Cash Assistance

Michael Lewis I recently attended the 21st Annual Basic Income Conference, which was held in Chicago, Illinois. While there, I moderated a panel on universal vs. targeted cash benefits. One of the presentations on that panel was focused on…

UBI: Good for people of color (Mandatory Participation on Trial, Part 10)

Significant structural disadvantages for people of color exist in the United States. These disadvantages will not go away until U.S. citizens work together to eliminate them. UBI will not eliminate structural disadvantages, but it can help. Most…

UBI: Good for women (Mandatory Participation on Trial, Part 9)

All or most of the arguments in part 8 apply to women as much as they do to men. Women make up about half of the workforce, and women are disproportionately subject to harassment, low-wages, poor working conditions, and disrespect on the job.…

UBI: Good for workers (Mandatory Participation on Trial, Part 8)

Underlying the work ethic, reciprocity, and exploitation objections are two questionable presumptions: that UBI is somehow bad for workers and that there is a recognizable dichotomy between “workers” and “UBI recipients.” My book, Universal…

Exploitation and UBI (Mandatory Participation on Trial, Part 7)

The exploitation objection to UBI, which goes hand-in-hand with the reciprocity objection, is essentially the following. Most of the goods people might buy with UBI require labor. Therefore, people who receive UBI benefit from the labor of others…

Reciprocity and UBI (Mandatory Participation on Trial, Part 6)

The above discussion answers one of the most common arguments against UBI, the allegation that it provides something for nothing in violation of a principle of reciprocity under which everybody who gets something gives something back. The…

The “work ethic” or the money-making ethic? (Mandatory Participation on Trial, Part 5)

The “work ethic” means different things in different contexts. Probably the most relevant definition of it is the belief that everyone who can work for what they get, but no such principle can be used to defend the existing economic system. Dana…

UBI and incentives (Mandatory Participation on Trial, Part 4)

Editor's note: This post is Part 4 of the series on Mandatory Participation by Karl Widerquist. Earlier parts have been also posted in this blog. --- People who are introduced to UBI often ask, “What about incentives?” UBI helps fix…