Universal income has had it’s biggest experiment during the Wuhan Corona virus, it still is ongoing. While I’m writing this.
Because of the pandemic certain areas of work are being killed enormously, for one the leisure and entertainment industry. At the present moment in the Netherlands, they are able to do something but not much. My best guess is that most leisure and entertainment businesses are running below 50% capacity. Why? First of all the 1,5 meter rule and some other governmental rules.
So a lot people are living indirectly of government funding. That is a bad thing because it generates all sorts of frictions. UBI makes you dependent on a government which has shown to lack competence. Thereby a basic income does not serve anybody. Let’s say realistically you need €1,500 net. You won’t be able to live in a city, you would maybe be living in the suburbs but also then you would need a part-time job. The city in my opinion is for the people with ambition en work-ethic, they contribute to society with taxes and their time. A quote from businessman bloomberg; the harder I work, the luckier I get.
So why does universal basic income in the end not work, in my opinion. You get x-amount of money on your bank account from the government. The essence would be that your case manager would actively get you to find work, in reality this is not always the situation. I rather have that people work part-time and try jobs. It also gives you purpose and routine, which is crucial for your mental health. In end it is going to cost society more money when people are offered universal basic income. You will always have people smarter en better. An equal society by law is closest you will ever come, in reality you will always have differences in outcome.