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Showing posts from November, 2023

THE IDEA OF UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME

In the previous article, we mentioned that Universal Basic Income has been proposed as one of the solutions to the paradox of welfare. Here, we explore what the idea is, its empirical feasibility and the possible hurdles in its implementation. Imagine that one fine morning, you get up and hear the news that the government would now transfer a certain amount of money, every month, in every citizen’s bank account, irrespective of one’s existing employment status, without it getting taxed. This is exactly what the Universal Basic Income would mean! By definition, the UBI is a financial support system that gives a certain minimum amount of money to everybody in the economy, which is needed for the fulfilment of one’s basic needs. However, there exists no consensus on what form this minimum basic income would take, or what amount is necessary for minimum subsistence. Nonetheless, this ambitious social policy is being increasingly viewed as an alternative to the existing system of welfare p