So today on NPR I heard the term universal basic income used. I was so happy I thought I would share part of a paper that I wrote that mentions it. Enjoy!
I believe that financial independence is an important part of life. If we lack sufficient material wealth, many aspects of life become more difficult. It is difficult to achieve our greatest potential if we are worried about what we will eat the next day. I also think it is rewarding to help others who are facing these concerns. I believe that people have a fundamental right to life. Some people may not be able to provide this right for themselves and it is duty for others to aid them in this. As a citizen of the world, this responsibility comes in part to me, not to solve the world's problems, but to do my share.
My views have not always been this way. Time and other significant life experiences have shaped my view of my responsibility. One significant life experience was when I was a missionary. When I served, I noticed that sometimes families that were suffering financially had trouble understanding gospel principles. In these experiences, I learned that having basic necessities is important in order to understand more important things, like our purpose in life. Maslow’s hierarchy, while not empirically proven, influenced me as well; if our basic needs are not met, achieving self-actualization is not possible.
When I was younger, I thought that government involvement was generally a bad thing and the private sector can operate more efficiently than government. As I got older, I realized that the private sector doesn’t help those that need help the most, but rather helps those most able to pay for it. With age, I also began to understand the writing of the foundering fathers differently. The Declaration of Independence asserts that people have inalienable rights; one of these is the very fundamental right to life. In a modern context, I believe this has a few implications. One is that all citizens of the United States have a right to health care. Children are sometimes, through no one's fault, born with medical conditions. These children still have a right to life, despite the circumstances in which they were born. In my youth, I did not think about these people; after all, supporting them would be a burden on me. I have learned from Christ that we must bear one another's burdens.
About a year ago, I was introduced to the concept of universal basic income. The basic premise is that everyone is entitled to a basic level of income. This is different from welfare because of its universal nature. This income is not contingent on anything; rich or poor, you qualify for this income. This removes the incentive for people on welfare to not work as they might lose their welfare. Initially, when I participated in the universal basic income movement, I just did so for the free money. However, as time when on, I saw that this was a powerful solution to helping those in need. It is crazy that in a nation like the United States, children go to bed hungry. The idea of universal basic income helps solve this, while avoiding the problems of incentivizing laziness.
