Research Paper on Universal Basic Income

The United States economy has fallen from its once-prosperous economy of the post-war era into a hellscape where even simply surviving is not easy for many. The cost of living is rapidly increasing but the average income is not keeping up, which is plunging more and more people into inescapable poverty. People have hardly any time to themselves because they need to work multiple jobs to stay afloat, causing them to be unable to work towards a better job. Due to this, a growing idea throughout the United States is that of a universal basic income, also referred to as UBI. A UBI would give every citizen a monthly stipend of money to spend however they want, with no restrictions. In order to fight poverty and give people more time, universal basic income should be implemented throughout the United States.

Firstly, UBI would be most beneficial by allowing people to escape poverty. According to CNN Wire, “Roughly 89% of Americans see their income fluctuate by more than 5% from month to month” (Ahiza 1). When people don’t have a stable income, it’s difficult to make plans for the future. UBI would solve this problem by giving people a steady income to build off of, allowing them to be confident with a safety net of income to fall back on. Additionally, to many people and families living in poverty, a UBI would be a “30% increase in annual income” (Foster 1). To these people living in extreme poverty, the extra money would mean not having to decide between having their children go hungry or live on the streets. The extra money from UBI would get people out of poverty by giving them a stable income to work off of and simply giving them the money they need for essentials.

On the other hand, one common critique of UBI is that people would abandon work and use the money irresponsibly. While it’s true that some people would do this, the vast majority would not. As Chris Hughes, a co-chair of an organization that runs UBI experiments puts it, "The idea is to provide a foundation, a floor on which people can build" (Ahiza 1). By only providing the foundation, UBI still leaves an incentive to work for something more than the bare essentials. People won’t be able to sit back, not work and still live a comfortable life. Overall, UBI would not disincentivize work because working would still have benefits and rewards.

However, UBI would buy people enough time to work on improving themselves and their families. As Natalie Foster, co-chair of the Economic Security Program puts it, “The ‘time tax' of poverty is not to be underestimated. People juggle the logistical chaos of holding down multiple jobs. They navigate the financial necessity of overtime” (Foster 1). UBI solves this problem by removing the need to work multiple jobs to stay afloat, giving people the time to move forward in their lives. For example, one participant of the Stockton test run “used the money to buy time to figure out his next career move. He not only spent more time with his kids, he researched, prepared, applied for and got a better-paying, salaried job with real advancement opportunities” (Foster 2). This proves that a UBI would give people time to make real changes in their lives. Without UBI, the participant wouldn’t have had the time to work on getting a better job because he would have been working constantly just to survive, with no way out of an endless loop. By removing the need for multiple jobs, UBI buys people time to focus on their goals and advance in society.

Lastly, another reason not to implement UBI that naysayers often bring up is the immense expense of it, that the US would have to go further into debt to put it into action. An adequate UBI would indeed cost over a trillion dollars, but there are ways to pay for it. A summary of the 2020 federal income tax data found that “The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid a 26.8 percent average individual income tax rate” (York). If heavy taxes were imposed on the top percenters, such as a 60% income tax, they would have to pay hundreds of billions more than they already pay, enough to cover a large part of the cost. Furthermore, additional money could be obtained by cracking down on tax evasion. Reports find that “The USA loses nearly $190 billion to tax evasion every year” (Milena). If the US imposed harsher penalties on tax evasion and was more diligent about catching it, the 190 billion could be made back to pay for UBI. Through taxing the wealthy and cracking down on tax evasion, the US could pay for UBI.

To conclude, the United States needs to implement a universal basic income to combat poverty. It would give people the time and money they need to get on their feet and escape poverty. It’s true that it’s expensive and some people will abuse it, but it can be paid for and it is proven that the majority of people would use the money as intended. To make sure UBI is implemented, you need to show your support for UBI. Vote for politicians who will support it, and encourage others to do the same. The United States depends on it.