Fr€e Ca$h? Let’s talk Universal Basic Income!

In this salon hosted by Lukas Rosenstock, we’ll share our thoughts about the idea behind universal basic income.

It’s a simple idea with proponents as varied as Martin Luther King and Elon Musk: give every citizen a monthly stipend to cover their essential needs, without conditions or work requirements. Unfortunately, no country or region has implemented Universal Basic Income (UBI) so far, but there have been many promising small-scale experiments. The COVID crisis put the idea back on the table, and stimulus checks for those affected by the pandemic can be considered a partial basic income.

Supporters believe that basic income can replace or extend our current social safety nets that may not work in a world with more flexible work arrangements and technological unemployment due to automation. Moreover, it could be a more dignified solution compared to the bureaucracy of means-testing. On the other hand, skeptics are afraid that people may not want to work anymore, the economy breaks down, and prices increase. It’s also hard to fund an income for all and requires higher taxes, which people may try to evade.

We will talk about the various experiments and studies, and what we think about them. Most of all, however, we make the conversation personal. How would your life change if you received a basic income? And would those changes be for better or worse? What about the people in your life, like friends and family? Who would benefit most? Let’s share our hopes and fears in an honest conversation!

Relevant Reading:

• Twitter’s Jack Dorsey Is Giving Andrew Yang $5 Million to Build the Case for a Universal Basic Income
• COVID-19 Broke the Economy. What If We Don’t Fix It?
• Rutger Bregman: Poverty isn’t a lack of character; it’s a lack of cash (15 min TED talk)

Header image by kalhh from Pixabay

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