Is UBI About To Make An Appearance?

It seems this is a topic that gets more coverage by the day. Universal Basic Income (UBI) was long discussed as a way to eliminate some of the issues with technology and capitalism.

Up to this point, no country in the world implemented it although there were some trials over the years.

This is a subject that was supported by people on the both right and left. In fact, it made it through the House of Representatives during Richard Nixon's time in office.

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A lot of this idea is modeled after the Alaska Dividend which is paid to each resident of the state. This is a program that was in place for more than 30 years. It stems from the oil rights that are paid to the state. The belief is those rights belong to the citizens and a direct payment is much better than going into the government general fund.

With the economic impact from the coronavirus mounting, some are calling for UBI to be implemented as a means to offset things for the average person.

Governments and central banks are already doling out trillions in an effort to prevent a global depression. For the most part, they are following the typical pattern of giving the money to the big banks and mega-corporations.

One of the biggest arguments against UBI is the cost. With the global economy collapsing, governments might not have any other choice. Deficits are going to skyrocket no matter what is done. With technological adoption likely being pushed to a greater degree by the corporations, jobs could be very hard to come by.

The conservative argument for UBI is the elimination of existing social welfare programs which tend to be expensive to operate. Of course, corporate welfare is something that should be looked at also.

It could be possible we see UBI implemented in some smaller countries. Spain announced they were going to do it although gave no details on how or when it would take place.

This means that a rather quick end to the virus could mean the idea is scrapped.

Desperation appears to be setting in on the present system. This could lead to a host of experiments that were not palatable before.