BIG IDEA:
Universal Basic Income

What is Universal Basic Income?
• A fixed, monthly cash grant
• Given directly to all adult citizens individually
• To cover basic living expenses
• With no strings attached

Why Universal Basic Income?
• Eliminate poverty and reduce inequality, with dignity
and security for all
• Save capitalism, as technology substitutes for human
labor and reduces wage income/purchasing power
• Encourage entrepreneurship, life-long learning,
creative and caring work, and civic engagement

Common Objections
We WON’T
• Fringe idea
• No political support
• Too many vested
interests
We SHOULDN’T
• People are lazy and
won’t work
• Will be spent on
alcohol and drugs
• Something for
nothing
• Breeds dependency
We CAN’T
• Will cost too much
• Inflationary
• Geographic cost
differences
• People won’t do
unattractive but
necessary jobs

UBI Results?
• MOREWORK and MORE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
• MORE SAVINGS, LESS DEBT
• BETTER HEALTH and EDUCATION outcomes
• LESS CRIME and REDUCED RECIDIVISM
• NO INCREASES in ALCOHOL, DRUG orTOBACCO USE

How CanWe Afford UBI?
• Existing bureaucratic welfare program spending
• Consumption taxes (VAT)
• Financial transaction taxes
• Tax expenditures (subsidies, deductions)
• Carbon taxes
• Patent fees
• Income and property taxes
• Savings from reduced governmental costs (health, crime)

Support for UBI?
• Frances Coppola
• Barbara Ehrenreich
• Milton Friedman
• Friedrich Hayek
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Charles Murray
• Richard Nixon
• Thomas Paine
• Robert Reich
• Joseph Stiglitz

Political Logic
• Right
– Eliminates 300+ government programs and the nanny-state
– Puts focus on individual responsibility
– Preserves market based virtuous cycle of consumption and production
• Left
– Eliminates poverty
– Eliminates holes in the safety net
– Enhances individual bargaining power
• Libertarian
– IF some distribution is needed, maximizes individual freedom for the recipient

How to Make UBI Happen?
Think Big
Start Small
Move Fast