Changing My Mind on Universal Basic Income

“With 14 million Americans suddenly plunged into indefinite unemployment, has UBI become more popular? It seems like the answer is yes and no.”

Long, long ago, in one of my first articles for Merion West, I wrote about universal basic income (UBI)—that is, the policy idea of making regular, unconditional cash payments to all Americans (either as a supplement to or replacement of traditional means-tested welfare). Although the idea was not without its merits, at the time, I concluded that it was ultimately a utopian pipe dream that was not destined for reality.

That was in 2017. To put it mildly, a lot has changed in the interceding years. Much that felt normal or possible back then now seems quaint and naive, while some of what looked impossible can no longer be dismissed so off-handedly. I believe UBI falls into the latter category.

In no small way is the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic responsible for this development. It has forced policymakers, businesses, and the general public to adapt to unique circumstances in ways that mimic UBI and will not be easy to undo. It has also given us a few data points to extrapolate how society might react to UBI. The ongoing political realignment, which has seen the Republican party freed of some of its prior dogmas (and beholden to new ones), is also important.

Following are some (re)considerations about the feasibility and likely impact of UBI. To the best of my ability, I have attempted to group my thoughts into three categories: politics, economics, and sociology.