Unconditional Basic Income

Basic idea

Let’s introduce a world-wide Unconditional Basic Income.

Unconditional Basic Income

A decent but honest income, paid by a national government to each citizen.

A periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.

A world-wide Unconditional Basic Income would have multiple advantages:

  • reduce mass migrations

  • reduce influence of lobby work of greedy giants

  • reduce the administrative effort of tax collection

“People will get lazy”

One argument of opponents is that the UBI will make people lazy. They will increasingly drink coffee and alcohol, smoke Marijuana, play computer games, watch movies, surf around, chat with their friends, stay in bed, walk around, waste their time…

I agree that we don’t want people to become lazier.

But it won’t happen. First of all there’s nothing wrong with staying in bed when you are tired or ill, there’s nothing wrong with reading or watching or hearing stories that might teach you something, there’s nothing wrong with chatting with your friends and neighbours. There’s nothing wrong with doing things that don’t give you immediate benefit. As long as you love, do as you please.

Addiction

Addiction is a subtopic to be discussed. When somebody has lost control over their life for medical reasons, it would be wrong to give them money in the hope they use it wisely. People suffering from an addiction will get different types of support.

Addiction means that you use or do something more often than is good for you. Addiction is caused by frustration, depression, hopelessness, and lack of education or appropriate information about the dangers.

I don’t believe that addiction will increase when people no longer need to worry about their basic income.

Further reading