Universal Basic Income
Everything you ever wanted to know, in one book
Next month, Oxford University Press will be publishing a book that I co-wrote with my excellent colleague, Miranda Perry Fleischer. The book is called Universal Basic Income: What Everyone Needs to Know (Amazon link), and it’s intended to serve as a one-stop guide to everything you ever wanted to know about the history, politics, philosophy, and economics of a UBI.
There are a number of other books out there about the UBI, but we think there are a couple of things that set ours apart. First, a lot of current books are essentially manifestos. They are written to convince you that the UBI is the single most important policy ever devised, and that all the objections to it are mistaken, ill-intentioned, or both. Our book, in contrast, tries to lay out as objectively as possible both the strengths and the weaknesses of a UBI, compared to the alternatives. Both Miranda and I are on record as supporting a UBI, all-things-considered, but we recognize that there are some serious, credible objections to the UBI, and we don’t shy away from presenting them.
Second, most other books on the UBI are written at a fairly high level of philosophical abstraction. There’s a lot of discussion about the moral foundations of a UBI, but relatively little discussion of exactly how it would work. Which agency would administer it? How often would it be paid? Would there be variations for regional differences in cost of living? Our book takes these practical questions seriously, and devotes significant attention to them.
Indeed, one of the central contentions of our book is that when it comes to the UBI, the details are everything. There are so many different versions of a UBI, that differ in so many important respects (how big would it be? would children get it?), that asking someone whether they support a UBI or not is almost a meaningless question. The real question is what kind of UBI - if any - they support. Our book lays out the different options, and addresses the strengths and weaknesses of each.
Finally, our book is written in an accessible, question-and-answer format. You can read the whole thing from cover to cover, if you want. But if you just want to know, say, how a UBI would affect people’s incentive to work, you can easily jump to that section for a short, self-contained answer.
I’ll post some excerpts from the book here in the coming weeks. For now, though, here’s a table of contents that shows all of the different questions we explore in the book. Check it out, and if you like what you see, order your copy today!
Universal Basic Income: What Everyone Needs to Know
Table of Contents
Part 1: The Basics
1. What is a basic income?
2. Who first thought of the idea?
3. Who are some recent supporters of a basic income?
4. So, has a basic income ever been tried?
5. What are the main arguments in favor of a basic income?
6. What are the main arguments against a basic income?
Part 2: How Would it Work?
7. How big would it be?
8. Would rich people receive a basic income?
9. No, really, why are you sending a check to billionaires like Jeff Bezos?
10. Would a basic income replace existing welfare policies or supplement them?
11. How much would a basic income cost?
12. How could a basic income be funded?
13. Would a basic income be paid to individuals or households?
14. Would children receive a basic income?
15. Would seniors receive a basic income on top of Social Security benefits?
16. Would immigrants and noncitizens receive a basic income?
17. Would a basic income be adjusted for regional differences in cost of living?
18. What's the best level to implement a basic income - a country? A city? Globally?
19. Would a basic income be subject to asset or wealth tests?
20. Will people be able to sell or borrow against their basic income?
21. How frequently would a basic income be paid?
22. Which agency would administer the basic income?
23. How would a basic income be delivered to beneficiaries?
Part 3: Common Alternatives
24. How does a basic income compare to traditional welfare programs?
25. How does a basic income compare to in-kind or restricted cash transfers?
26. How does a basic income compare to programs for the unemployed and disabled?
27. How does a basic income compare with benefits for workers, like the Earned Income Tax Credit?
28. How does a basic income compare with child allowances or child tax credits?
29. How does a basic income compare to a Negative Income Tax?
30. How does a basic income compare with proposals like Baby Bonds or a Basic Endowment?
31. How does a basic income differ from a guaranteed employment program?
Part 4: Examples
32. Doesn't Alaska have something like a basic income?
33. Didn't the United States run some experiments on the basic income back in the 1970s?
34. What about Canada?
35. Has a basic income ever been tried in the developing world?
36. What are some other current basic income experiments?
37. How much can we really learn about a basic income from pilot programs?
Part 5: Advantages
38. Could a basic income help us deal with increasing automation and artificial intelligence?
39. Could a basic income end poverty?
40. Could a basic income reduce inequality?
41. Would a basic income be simpler and more efficient?
42. Would a basic income enhance autonomy and dignity?
43. Could a basic income improve the position of people of color?
44. How will a basic income affect families?
45. How would a basic income affect communities?
46. How would a basic income affect the problem of "bullshit jobs"?
47. Could a basic income help us to address environmental problems?
Part 6: Objections
48. Would a basic income be too expensive?
49. Would a basic income discourage people from working?
50. Why support people who could work but choose not to?
51. Won't people just waste cash?
52. What about the children of negligent, mentally-ill, drug-addicted, or alcoholic parents?
53. Could a basic income make the poor worse off?
54. Will a basic income increase hostility to immigrants?
55. Will a basic income cause inflation?
56. What happens if someone wastes their basic income and is still hungry and homeless?
57. What would stop a basic income from getting bigger and bigger over time?
Part 7: The Politics of a UBI
58. Is a basic income politically feasible?
59. Is the basic income a socialist idea?
60. What do conservatives think about a basic income?
61. What have feminists said about a basic income?
62. What do progressives think about a basic income?
63. What do libertarians think about a basic income?
64. Is a basic income likely to be implemented anytime soon?
65. Are there any organizations advocating for a basic income?
66. Where can I learn more about a basic income?