The financial dislocations of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented cash benefits that policymakers implemented in response have sparked renewed interest in an old idea: a universal basic income (UBI) for all Americans. Last proposed and debated seriously in the 1970s, UBI would provide every adult in the United States with a cash payment every year with no requirement to work. While this unrestricted handout often scores high in polls, it would be a terrible idea for both idealistic and practical reasons.
Perhaps most important, severing the connection between work and income would create the illusion that the benefits received […]
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