The history of universal basic income: The concept of UBI has been debated for centuries
April 3, 2025
Figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Richard Nixon supported versions of UBI.
Figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Richard Nixon supported versions of UBI.
Human beings are not game pieces. We are not theoretical abstractions. We are animals. And like all animals we have needs that must be met or we will suffer greatly and die.
Scott Santens is the founder and CEO of the U.S.-based Income to Support All (ITSA) Foundation, and has been researching and advocating for Universal Basic Income (UBI) since 2013.
In 2025, the the School of Social and Political Sciences (SSPS) at the University of Sydney will offer the first unit of study focused on Universal Basic Income (UBI) to be taught at a university in Australasia.
The concept of a guaranteed income is gaining traction as a solution to the impact of AI and way to encourage more rewarding and socially valuable work
In recent years, economic inequality has increased along with housing costs, inflation and mass layoffs, all of which have significantly impacted the economic well-being of individuals worldwide.
While the concept stretches back centuries, it has garnered significant attention in recent decades.
Can a universal benefit address poverty, reduce inequality and promote public health?
On Prince Edward Island, a recent report has outlined how the province could reduce poverty by adopting a basic income. Meanwhile in Ottawa, the Senate is considering developing a framework for a national basic income. Momentum behind a basic income is clearly growing in Canada.
Recent experiences like the COVID-19 pandemic have brutally highlighted that traditional policy tools are inadequate in protecting the weakest sections of India.
An NIT sounds very different from a UBI because, well, it sounds like a tax, not a benefit! But as we’ll see, in most circumstances, the two are mathematically equivalent.
One fear about Universal Basic Income (UBI) is that it could cause rents to increase, partially or entirely diverting the benefit of UBI to landlords.
This book explores what a range of different academic disciplines have to say about universal basic income.
Many people have imagined a workers’ revolution that cuts out property owners and establishes a true circle-of-obligation. As always, let me see the plan. Maybe it solves some of the problems I’ve mentioned, but no plan solves the insider-outsider problems inherent in politics. Wishful thinking about everyone becoming better people after the revolution won’t make the self-serving bias of people in power go away.
Universal basic dividend (UBD) is a mechanism by which each member of a given society receives a regular payment, with no or very limited conditionality, typically based on recognising the value of common resources, or of public investment in the capitalist economy. This post explores the potential benefits and limitations of this idea, summarising the policy brief recently published by the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose.
By: Joshua Preiss See original post here. Universal basic income is an idea usually associated with the political left. However, it also has surprising support
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By: Diana Bashur See original post here. _______________________________________ In a nutshell. What a regular, individual and predictable basic income has done is make people more
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By Aliya Chikte and Gilad Isaacs Political will and strategic taxation channels could help bridge the yawning divide between the haves and the have nots
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Universal programs in moments of economic transformation prove to endure with popular support. Will it last? By: Shaby Missaghi History has a habit of repeating itself.
We should not underestimate the financial hardship young people and students face due to high levels of debt, rising levels of mental health problems and
The benefits of universal basic income is being recognized globally with the potential to provide everyone with a safety net that can improve the quality
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At the heart of this concept is the idea of individual freedom and personal dignity, or more particularly, the means by which individuals can exercise
If the pandemic taught economic policy makers nothing else, it’s the value of nimble fiscal supports in averting disaster and weathering hard times. By: David
Introducing a Basic Income Guarantee would cost a lot of money. The good news is that we can finance them by raising taxes on the
This is a list of some arguments in support of UBI that I’ve most frequently come across during my years of following the UBI discussion.
“Although there is now a little library of books on Basic Income, we believe that our effort is unique in that it tells detailed, personal
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UBI, at its core, is an unconditional cash transfer that guarantees a livable income regardless of work status. This differs from Canada’s current philosophy on
The Cost of Living examines claims made by UBI’s supporters and detractors and includes interviews with welfare rights adviser Barb Jacobson, the late anthropologist David
An updated system of income and taxes would alleviate the worst crises the United States faces, including climate change. What’s more, we’ve got the numbers
By: Scott Santens Everything seemed to change in 2020, and yet in very important ways, what really needed to didn’t, which is what must change. It’s
The local organising committee for the 2021 Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) Congress in Glasgow are very excited to announce our call for papers for
The ECI is asking for a universal basic income that is unconditional, individual, and of a quantity that is at least equal to the poverty
Contribution to GTI Forum – Universal Basic Income: Has the Time Come? By: Mary Mellor Interest in a basic income seems to be growing, and
ALEX CULVIN, member of UBI Lab Network, tells Georgina Trace how a Universal Basic Income in the UK could emancipate women and provide financial security
New tool from Stanford compiles extensive research and shows the connections between UBI and a variety of social issues. The UBI Research Visualization bolsters basic
VIDEO on The First 100 Days of the Biden / Harris Administration and what can be accomplished. Basic Income Community Planning for The First 100
Analysis: how a band of Catholic monetary reformers in Ireland promoted the idea of a basic income to eradicate poverty By: Gordon Warren Although widely
“There will not be a magic day when we wake up and it’s now okay to express ourselves publicly. We make that day by doing
UBI programs need to think big picture to achieve lasting results. Is this the right time? By: Wendi Williams In late October, Mayor Aja Brown
Replacing the raft of recovery benefits with a simple, permanent guaranteed income would be an automatic stabilizer for people and the economy. By: Evelyn L.
Basic income is a guarantee that no Canadian will have to live on an income far below the poverty line. It’s as simple as that.
As we look to a post-pandemic future, more and more local authorities are getting behind the idea of a Universal Basic Income. The case is
Veterans of all ages have unique needs but our current social support systems aren’t sufficient for Veterans with disabilities. UBI can make a real difference.
Imagine the challenges of falling through the gaps in the social security net because, despite being ill, you’re not disabled ‘enough,’ or chronically ill ‘enough,’
Now there’s a chance for anyone to volunteer for a guaranteed income program, one that you both can benefit from—and help support. BY KRISTIN TOUSSAINT If
In rural Kenya, a UBI pilot started in 2007, paying about Sh80 of $.075 daily which significantly improved well-being on common measures such as hunger,
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By: Scott Santens. — I’ve written before about how besides just being a good idea with a lot of evidence-based reasons to support it, unconditional
By: By Brendan Kennedy. – A coalition of nearly 4,000 individuals and organizations is calling on the federal government to implement a guaranteed basic income to address the
By: Patrick Hurley. – I read with real interest Anna Coote’s article earlier this week, which questioned the arguments and assumptions behind the policy of basic income.
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By: Anton Jäger, Daniel Zamora – COULD A GLOBAL PANDEMIC give us a Universal Basic Income? About a year ago, this question might have sounded
Insecurity caused by coronavirus has prompted more people to join UK groups calling for change
THOMAS PAINE’S SOLUTION FOR POVERTY By: PAUL MEANY Thomas Paine was one of the first people to argue in favor of what we now refer
Economic Revival and Universal Basic Income By: J. J. MARTIN The COVID-19 pandemic has shut down the economy, with many peoples’ income dropping and their
How a universal basic income could help women in abusive relationships By Amelia Womack @Amelia_Womack It is hard to put into words how difficult it is
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$1,000 per month: How would a universal income boost Marin City? By Jason Fagone for the SF Chronicle Welcome to the Throughline: A new
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A moral case for Universal Basic Income A neoliberal argument for UBI based on individual freedom and property rights By Matt Zwolinski This
Making the Case for Universal Basic Income: An Author Q&A By Carl M. Cannon I recently interviewed Steven Shafarman about his new book,
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Social psychology Ph.D. student shares research on universal basic income By Sophie Regan Catherine Thomas, a social psychology Ph.D. student and research fellow at the
by Ronnie Cowan MP If any good is to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic it may be that people are seriously questioning some
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In the darkest hour of the coronavirus pandemic, in the face of an expected 30 percent unemployment rate and a likely new Great Recession, income-supplementing programs are
According to an April 6 article on CNBC.com, Spain is slated to become the first country in Europe to introduce a universal basic income (UBI) on a
Universal basic income — a monthly payment to everyone sufficient to meet basic needs — could end poverty overnight. But the question remains: can we
Flatten the curve… We’ve heard that phrase repeatedly as a result of the novel coronavirus in regards to the healthcare system. There are only so
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
Imagine, for a moment, that the robots have won. The year is 2049—the same year researchers once pegged as the one in which A.I. would
If guaranteed income is an attempt to provide people with more resources—resources that come with very few restrictions—it demands a conversation with the people who
Forty years ago today—February 7, 1980—was a small milestone for the Universal Basic Income (UBI) movement: Milton and Rose Friedman dedicated an episode of their television show to a
The Congressional Budget Office just projected a series of $1 trillion budget deficits—as far as the eye can see. Narrowing that deficit will require not only
Canada can afford to eliminate poverty, support the middle class and dramatically shrink the gap between the rich and poor by introducing an annual basic income of
One thing to celebrate from the 21st-century “teens” – the rise of universal basic income (UBI). We’ve started a new decade, but you could be
Skeptics of guaranteed income tend to worry about the policy’s inflationary effects; absent rent regulation, for instance, one might expect housing costs to rise in
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the proposal that the state should provide a guaranteed income floor to everybody, as a right of citizenship. As someone
The idea of an unconditional basic income (UBI) floor where everyone starts with the same minimum amount of money as everyone else each month as an economic
Tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are talking up the idea of a universal basic income. But the American history of the basic
Here political philosopher and economist Karl Widerquist argues that UBI is required as compensation for the creation of property rights that robbed people of their
It’s based on the dividends that accrue to Americans because of their everyday contributions as workers, consumers, caregivers and volunteers: Opposing view “Universal basic income”
The film directed by Álvaro Orús and promoted by Pressenza and Humanists for Basic Income, was premiered at the European Humanist Forum in May 2018,
How will universal basic income impact you? Well, the answer to that question depends on the details of the UBI plan in question, and the
The opportunity to fail is a privilege afforded to a narrow subset of Americans. Risk and reward are two sides of the same coin, and
Give everyone €75 a week. All adults regardless of whether they are in employment or not, regardless of their income, irrespective of their household circumstances.
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Is socialism on the march in the U.S., as President Donald Trump warned in the State of the Union address this month? Hardly, but some
Free ‘universal basic services’ has recently been advocated as a better alternative to a basic income, on the grounds that it would be a cheaper and
New York’s first queer, black congressional candidate, James Felton Keith, tells The Sociable that a Universal Basic Income is the best way to distribute an
Article orginally published on June 11, 2019 • The idea for a universal basic income, or UBI, is increasingly popular. • While it seems like
Article originally published on May28th, 2019. The vibrant debate around the question of basic income has all too often neglected a crucial aspect: gender dynamics.
Book Here With prominent business and government leaders backing calls to implement Universal Basic Income (UBI), the idea is receiving high levels of coverage and
Article originally published on May 17, 2019. Governments around the world are declaring “climate and environmental emergencies” to highlight the unsustainable ways in which humans, over
Basic Income is everywhere these days. The idea that anyone could receive monthly payments to supplement–or even replace–their regular income has found a foothold at
Alberta could reduce poverty and introduce a guaranteed basic income with virtually no new funding by simply tweaking how it issues tax credits, according to
Thousands of people could be put out of work by robots in reading in the next 20 years. Although the perception is that factory workers
The 18th Annual North American Basic Income Guarantee (NABIG) Congress will be held June 15-16, 2019 at the Silberman School of Social Work (SSSW) of
As a moderator of the /r/BasicIncome subreddit, I read a lot of links every year about UBI, probably around 100 per month. Once again, as
Proposing to give every American a basic income hurt George McGovern in 1972. Maybe it will work better for Andrew Yang. Photo: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Newark mayor Ras Baraka announced last week that the city will pursue a universal-basic-income pilot program that would provide residents with monthly income regardless of
This week, former U.S. President Barack Obama tentatively endorsed the idea of a universal basic income. The fortune of another American, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos,
Last year, when the Finnish and Canadian trials were, respectively, not renewed and cancelled, the momentum behind universal basic income (UBI) was seemingly brought to
People consider me somewhat of an expert on the topic of basic income and so I’m frequently asked for book recommendations. Because of that, I’ve
