Question 1

What is UBI?

Accepted Answer

UBI is a regular and unconditional payment given to everyone every week or every month. Everyone receives it regardless of their income, wealth or employment status.

It guarantees a basic level of financial security for everyone. It makes sure nobody in society falls through the cracks. It supports people doing unpaid work, such as caring for relatives.

Question 2

How much would everyone get?

Accepted Answer

Different proposals suggest different amounts of UBI. Most proposals in the UK range between £50 to £150 per week for adults, and £30 to £80 per week for children.

In their manifesto for the 2019 election, the Green Party proposed a UBI in the UK of £89 a week.

Economist Karl Widerquist has proposed a UBI of £7,706 per adult per year. This is around £148 a week.

Andrew Yang proposed a UBI of $1,000 a month for every American adult in his presidential campaign.

Some proposals are lower or higher than these.

Question 3

Would a UBI replace all benefits?

Accepted Answer

No. Most UBI proposals keep Housing Benefit and disability benefits. Many UBI proposals replace Child Benefit with a more generous UBI for children.

Most UBI proposals replace some means-tested benefits like Jobseeker's Allowance and tax credits. All serious UBI proposals would make lower and middle income households better off.

Question 4

Would a UBI benefit everyone?

Accepted Answer

UBI would raise the incomes of millions of lower and middle income households. The vast majority of people in the UK would be better off than they are now.
Some high earners would be slightly worse off than they are now. But evidence from The Equality Trust (https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/resources/the-spirit-level)shows that even higher earners have a better quality of life in more equal societies.

Many lower and middle income households are currently one unexpected payment away from debt. A 2016 study (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37504449)found that 16 million people in the UK have less than £100 in savings. A UBI would help people pay their bills or cover unexpected payments without going into debt.

A UBI would reduce poverty. In time, it could end absolute poverty completely. A UBI would end the need for food banks and would stop people becoming homeless because they can’t pay their rent.

Question 5

How much would a UBI cost?

Accepted Answer

When talking about the cost of a UBI, it's important to distinguish the gross cost from the net cost.

The gross cost is the total amount paid out per year in a UBI for everyone.
The net cost is the total amount paid out in a UBI minus the money it would save. For example, higher taxes or a lower mental health budget would cancel out some of the cost of a UBI.

Critics of UBI will often use the gross cost to make it seem more expensive than it is. When talking about the cost of a UBI, we should always use the net cost. If the UK put a UBI in place, the net cost would be the real cost.

In the UK, economist Karl Widerquist has modelled (https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/basic-income-could-virtually-eliminate-poverty-in-the-united-kingdom-at-a-cost-of-67-billion-per-year/)a UBI of £7,706 per adult and £3,853 per child, per year. The net cost would be £67 billion per year. This is 3.4% of GDP, and about a third of the gross cost.