UBI: An Idea that Should be DOA!

 

Perhaps the nine scariest words ever uttered in the English language are: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

In full disclosure, just writing that sentence made me uncomfortable as a burlap shirt in July.

The same august body that oversees the U.S. Post Office and the Department of Education to name two entities that would give Homer Simpson cause for concern, is now mulling the possibility of implementing UBI – universal basic income.

This is a program where Uncle Sam issues checks to all citizens in a pre-set amount regardless of employment status or actual need. In other words, if you possess a working pulse and an average body temperature of 98.6, then you would be eligible for this head-scratching largesse.

If one took it upon themselves to look up the meaning of wealth redistribution, I’m sure it would be accompanied by a diagram of universal basic income.

For those unfamiliar, this is not a new proposal spurred on by the pandemic.

Nope, this was floated by Silicon Valley magnates some years ago – possibly to provide much-needed camouflage from how many jobs would be lost via the roster AI products currently either in place or in development.

Now, with job-killing minimum wage policies coupled with “America’s Rescue Plan,” which added an additional $300 a week in addition to the respective state unemployment benefits the government has in effect erected what is known as a “wage floor” for millions who have long ago become unmotivated in their attempts to look for work. Let’s face it, would you rather remain home watching “The Price Is Right” and collect a check for lounging in sleepwear, or log 40-50 hours at a Home Depot or Cheesecake Factory?

Over 2020, economists have projected that the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in the loss of some nearly 300 million jobs across the globe. The University of Chicago predicted that more than 40 percent of the pandemic-related layoffs may be permanent.

In April, the National Federation of Independent Business reported that 44 percent of job openings in the U.S, were not filled. Meanwhile, roughly 16 million are currently receiving unemployment benefits – nearly 7 million more that those who are technically classified as “unemployed,” and looking for work. Predictably, some politicians such as Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., blessed the UBI program with the rationale that some private sector jobs do not pay enough to entice people to work.

Despite Sanders’ imprimatur, any college freshman who spent two hours in an economics class could probably perceive that UBI would only magnify the cycle of dependency – a program devoid of eligibility contingencies that ensures citizens are beholden to Uncle Sam and not allow recipients to earn a (working) paycheck, gain much-needed skills to advance into what is hopefully a career.

UBI is a program that all should hope winds up in the same dustbin of history as New Coke or Harley Davidson perfume.