History Sides With UBI

Time to look at what a $3,000 a month universal basic income (UBI) would do. People would still work, maybe go back to school to improve upon their skills, which would make them a better employee, or maybe some would even start their own business. Some would even take a vacation and spend money to supporting the local economy, spend time with their families or volunteer as a firefighter-first responder, kids sports like Little League or Pop Warner teams, or get involved in local politics, like school or water or fire boards. These are just a few of the things people could do if they had a little extra cash from a UBI. At this time, we have 41 million Americans living below the poverty level. This would end poverty and poverty wages. Wages would go up because people would be spending more, which would mean more jobs to replace the products bought. The UBI idea is not new. The concept was started in England’s Tudor period (1485-1603) basically that every person was to receive a guaranteed income. One of the most famous advocates for UBI was Thomas Paine, who wrote every proprietor of cultivated lands owes to the community a ground-rent for the land which he holds; and from this rent a fund gathered to be paid to every person, age of twenty-one years, “the sum of fifteen pounds sterling, as a compensation in part, for the loss of his or her natural inheritance, by the introduction of the system of landed property. And also, the sum of ten pounds per annum, during life, to every person now living, of the age of fifty years, and to all others as they shall arrive at that age.” and paid “to every person, rich or poor,” because natural inheritance belongs to every man. Later in the U.S., it was proposed by Martin Luther King Jr. and even Milton Friedman. Since 2008, the idea has been backed by a diverse group of figures, which say UBI wouldn’t just cover gaps in household budgets. It would also revolutionize society responding to automation, allowing everyone to choose both how much they work and what kind of work they do, be it in a factory or in a studio making art. UBI is now being done in Kenya (check out this link https://www.businessinsider.com/kenya-village-disproving-biggest-myth-about-basic-income-2017-12). Cash is much easier to distribute and cheaper than goods or services. A UBI allows people to decide how to choose that best fits their needs, like food, housing, clothes, transportation, or equipment for starting a business or farm. It is their chose. Yes, the time has come for a UBI. We just need to work out ‘the way’ and ‘the will.’ Change is always hard, but history will show this is the right move for all: the poor and the rich. Even the world as know it. To educate yourself on the subject, good readings include: With Liberty and Dividends for All by Peter Barnes Rights of Man by Thomas Paine https://basicincome.org/basic-income/history/