Universal Basic Income
higher would either push high earners into early retirement or prompt them to move overseas. Our education and health services are already underfunded. A government is unlikely to get buy-in for cutting these to fund UBI. I also do not think that the arguments regarding the labour market are persuasive, i.e. that there will be a significant shortage of jobs in the future due to automation and AI. I agree with journalist Ross Clark, who wrote in The Spectator that ‘ history is littered with episodes of tech disruption, yet in not one of them (from the invention of the plough, the steam engine, the computer, the internet) did they end the need for humans to work. On the contrary, as societies grew richer, they created ever more jobs in new areas .’ 11 Technology has given rise to careers which didn’t even exist when my parents were young; online influencers, programmers, digital content creators, website designers etc. I think jobs will continue to evolve as technology continues to change. I think it would be better to pay to re-train people to do these new jobs rather than to pay them to sit at home. As discussed earlier, studies of other countries which have trialled UBI showed that people tended to be happier and less stressed. I think this outcome was largely the result of the small trials enabling the recipients to be paid large monthly payments. It isn’t too surprising that unemployed people were happier to have an unconditional sum of money paid to them with no requirement to go through a complicated application process or to look for work. The creators of the English trial, paying £1600 per month, have admitted that the purpose of the trial is to change the political mindset. Will Stronge, Director of Research at Autonomy, said of the large sum ‘ universal basic income usually covers basic needs but we want see what effect this unconditional lump sum has on people’s mental and physical health, whether they choose to work or not ’ . 12 I do not think the outcome of these trials will really have much bearing on whether we can introduce UBI or not given that the sum being paid is totally unrealistic.
To conclude, I think UBI is more pipe dream than panacea; great in theory but unworkable in the real world.
11 Clark, R. ‘A universal basic income wouldn’t help unemployed Brits into work’, The Spectator at https://spectator.co.uk/article/a-universal -basic-income-woud-make-britain-even-more-workshy/. Consulted 10 August 2023. 12 See note 3.
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