The idea of a ‘basic income’ as a social fix has gained unprecedented prominence across the political spectrum in recent years. But now there may be a new kid on the block.
A universal basic income (UBI) is a flat cash benefit paid to everyone, regardless of wealth (or need), proposed as everything from a way to save humanity from robot-induced unemployment and/or labour drudgery to a means of replacing ‘inefficient’ welfare states. The new proposition is ‘universal basic services’ (UBS) – an attempt to beat UBI at its own game.
