Universal Basic Income (UBI for short) is a regular, fixed and unconditional payment made to all UK citizens. This would be paid directly to individuals on a weekly or monthly basis. Like the NHS, this basic income is universal, meaning everybody in society will receive it from cradle to grave.
UBI is not a new idea. The concept has been around since the 18th century when Thomas Paine mused how land and natural resources is the property of all and we should all therefore benefit from the profits that derive from it. Nevertheless, many questions are still unanswered, such as, how much should a UBI be?
To answer these types of questions, we must trial UBI here in the UK.
There have been several trials across the globe, from Namibia to India, and Canada to Finland. Indeed, Alaska already has a form of UBI through their sovereign wealth fund, which has been in place since the 80s and is paid from the profits derived from the oil they extract in the state. More recently, something akin to a UBI has been implemented in Spain, with the Spanish government guaranteeing that no one in Spain will earn less than €462 per month. This is often referred to as a “minimum income guarantee.” However, there is no doubt that UBI became mainstream as a result of the Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang making it his central policy idea.
The aforementioned trials illustrate the many benefits of UBI, such as a significant increase in mental and physical well-being. A key cause of stress and anxiety is due to financial uncertainty. The safety net and certainty of income provided by a UBI provides some relief to financial uncertainty faced by many families. In addition, the improvement in physical and mental well-being ensures that people are at their most productive, meaning, they contribute more to the economy; and these increases well-being also mean less hospital admissions, which of course saves the public purse.
Arguments remain as to how the Government creates enough funds to pay for a UBI. There have been multiple concepts and ideas floated around by authors as to how it would be funded, such as progressive taxation, scraping the personal allowance, increasing inheritance and property tax as well as introducing a financial transaction tax. In addition, advocates argue for a carbon tax which will help in the fight against climate change.
The key point relating to the financing a UBI is that it’s costing cannot be the result of a simple calculation. Opponents of the idea cite huge figures that are often miscalculated because they fail to take into consideration that the money given to those in the higher income bracket will be recovered from progressive taxation. Further, they do not consider that taxation in the UK will need to be reformed, which involves the introduction of new taxes, as mentioned above. Furthermore, they fail to consider that people in the lower income brackets spend the majority of their income on their basic needs, meaning, the vast majority of the money they receive will be pumped straight back into the economy.
It was encouraging to hear the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, outline his support of a basic income “experiment” in Wales, but we haven’t seen any action by the Welsh Government. This is where UBI Lab Cardiff comes in. We are lobbying the Welsh Government as well as Cardiff Council to undertake a pilot here in Wales.
In just over a month, the Lab has achieved so much. To name just a few highlights, the Lab’s co-founder, Jonathan Williams, appeared on BBC Wales Sunday Politics Show; local and national politicians from most political parties have engaged with the group by inviting us to speak at events they’ve held; and, we sent a letter to the First Minister urging him to get the ball rolling on pilot in Wales. Near 200 people signed the letter, which included prominent signatories such as Jane Dodds, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.
We believe that now is the time for Welsh Government and local authorities to act. The pandemic has further highlighted the huge structural inequalities which exist in society. It has plunged millions of people into financial uncertainty, some of which have never experienced anything like this before, which has left in fear of what the future holds. We must give those people hope. Introducing a UBI is one way of doing that.
The NHS was founded following the last national crisis we faced of this magnitude. Together, we can make a UBI our generations’ NHS.
In addition to the city-based Labs, the UBI Lab Network has founded a Youth Wing with the help of a significant number of young activists in Wales. UBI Lab Youth’s aim is to highlight how a basic income could help remedy issues faced by young workers, such as wage discrimination based on age and the difficulties of dealing with uncertain income, such as the uncertainty that those who are on zero hours contracts face.
If you would like to learn more or get involved with the campaign, please follow the networks on social media to find out updates about their campaigns and initiatives.
UBI Lab Cardiff is a collaboration of individuals and organisations working towards securing a basic income pilot in Cardiff.
