What Exactly is Universal Basic Income?

Let's break down the basics of UBI.

According to the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), basic income is “a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.”¹

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a type of basic income that has three key characteristics:

1. Universal. Everyone gets it no matter your income, job status, or background.

2. Regular. Consistent payments provide a predictable income floor.

3. Unconditional. Spend it how you need. No strings attached.

This versions of the concept has garnered support from a wide array of influential figures throughout history such revolutionary thinker Thomas Paine and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.²

Photo: Library of Congress (Unsplash)

UBI can offer a financial floor, providing a stable foundation to potentially help individuals and their families.

Common hopes of UBI include:

• Gain the freedom to explore career changes or entrepreneurship

• Have financial independence

• Pursue passions

• Improve work-life balance

• Increase resilience to challenges

• Reduce stress

• Helping victims of domestic violence

• Supporting unpaid care workers

• Fighting technological unemployment

• Discouraging low wages

• Redistributing wealth

• Eliminating the need for social security³

Common concerns of UBI include:

• Cost of implementation

• Remove the incentive to work

• Philosophical counterarguments questioning if money is a birthright⁴

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UBI and Your Life

This concept sparks a lot of debate, but we want to know what you think first.

BOOTSTRAPS aims to explore the heart of UBI through our upcoming docuseries and with our online community.

Behind every statistic and economic concept is a real person hoping for a little ease and a little more breathing room. What would you gain? What would you reclaim?

1. Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN)

2. What is UBI? (Stanford Basic Income Lab)

3. Should the U.S. Implement a Universal Basic Income? (Britannica)

4. The Pros and Cons of Universal Basic Income (Penguin Random House)