Thank you to those who have contacted me as part of a
campaign around a Universal Basic Campaign.
This is not one I support and as such I did not sign the
letter mentioned.
Each country have taken a different approach to providing
financial support through the COVID-19 crisis. The UK’s coronavirus aid package
is the second most generous in Europe, and one of the most generous when
compared globally.
As for UBI more generally, while on the face of it the idea
that every individual should receive a regular income from the government may
seem like a fair and positive solution, this would present a whole range of
different challenges.
Schemes of this nature are extremely costly and would
benefit wealthy individuals who do not need this payment, which would be
diverting funds from the most vulnerable.
The only research on it which is ‘promising’ are misleading
because they are actively choosing extremely poor families in desperate need of
money, and who under the welfare schemes we already have in this country would
be eligible for financial support.
This article from the national Guardian newspaper from last
year might also be of interest in explaining the issues behind UBI.
Thanks again to those who took the time write to me about
this issue.
