Universal Basic Income, but what is it?
Imagine having a guaranteed, no questions asked payment into your bank account once a month. What would you do with it? Buy extra clothes, treat yourself to a night out. Or would you be sensible and put it towards your mortgage or rent; perhaps save it for a rainy day - Now imagine being at the bottom of the food chain, unable to afford clothes, a night out - being homeless; unable to afford rent let alone a mortgage. And savings, that is what rich people have. Being at the bottom of the food chain people have to rely on handouts from the food bank -"get fit, eat healthy" is the message from the politicians who have never lived off food bank meals. People at the bottom of the food chain live in fear, every day of their lives! Asleep, they have nightmares about not being able to provide for themselves, let alone anyone else - awake, and they live the nightmare from the night before, not being able to provide for themselves let alone anyone else.A universal basic income is a no questions asked payment to everyone, no matter where you are on the food ladder! Imagine living a life without fear, without nightmares - a life where you can treat yourself to what you have not got now.
One of the greatest arguments against a UBI is it will encourage people to become lazy - people need to go out and earn, we cannot discourage this by giving away free money! That's how it works, isn't it?
Finland saw the worlds most robust study of UBI which concluded that UBI boosts recipients’ mental and financial well-being, as well as modestly improving employment. Minna Ylikanno of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland was asked if UBI could help with the dire economical consequence of coronavirus - she said, "I think it would bring people security in very insecure situations when they don’t know whether they’re going to have an income" - alleviating the stress imposed on people in these uncertain times.
The study also found that in certain categories - families with children, for instance - the was a positive effect on employment. Prof Helena Blomberg-Kroll, who led the study said:
“[people] with the basic income... were prepared to take low-paying jobs they would otherwise have avoided... Some said the basic income allowed them to go back to the life they had before they became unemployed".
People working and feeling good about themselves encourages them to go out and spend in the economy, which generates a tax revenue for the government. Whilst some argue it is free money, others would argue it is an investment - investing in people and encouraging them to spend.
12th August 2020, the UK officially went into recession. "Hard times are here" announced the UK's chancellor, Rishi Sunak. He said "hundreds of thousands have already lost their jobs - and many more will". Hundreds of thousands are about to be introduced to the disastrous universal credit system, where there is a delay before receiving a first payment; the dire consequences of which will force people and families into poverty and under the black cloud of depression. The UK is about to sink into a Dickensian novel where the poorest parts of society suffer the most. A universal basic income is a life raft, keeping us afloat whilst we weather this recession storm.
We need to stop imagining life with a universal basic income - make a universal basic income a reality!