The Wisdom of a Universal Basic Income

Would a universal basic income be a "calamity"? Research suggests the opposite.

"This summer, the Wall Street Journal published an article claiming that a universal basic income would be a “calamity” for American society. The author’s warning was clear: “increasingly, young unemployed men are perfectly content to stay at home playing video games.”

Why, then, should we fund the gaming habits of lazy millennials with unconditional welfare payments? This kind of objection is hardly new; a quick Google search will show that universal basic income has been described by its critics as “unconstitutional,” a “utopian fiction,” a “terrible idea,” and perhaps worst of all, “corporatist totalitarianism.”...

Would a universal basic income be a "calamity"? Research suggests the opposite.

"This summer, the Wall Street Journal published an article claiming that a universal basic income would be a “calamity” for American society. The author’s warning was clear: “increasingly, young unemployed men are perfectly content to stay at home playing video games.”

Why, then, should we fund the gaming habits of lazy millennials with unconditional welfare payments? This kind of objection is hardly new; a quick Google search will show that universal basic income has been described by its critics as “unconstitutional,” a “utopian fiction,” a “terrible idea,” and perhaps worst of all, “corporatist totalitarianism.”...