This post is a response to a question posted by @newtonquanch: Would universal basic income be more beneficial to our current welfare systems?
A Universal Basic Income (UBI) could be better for everyone than the current welfare system in the United States, but it has to be done right. I will talk about it more in a second, but one of the main benefits of a UBI is the lack of negative incentives. For a UBI to work, it has to be truly universal. It cannot be taken away at all for any reason. Otherwise the whole purpose is defeated.
The benefits of a UBI over the current system is that there are no negative incentives. The current welfare system incentivizes behaviors like staying unemployed. The amount people make on unemployment is often more than what they could get with low income jobs, so it is financially better for them to stay unemployed. With a UBI, there is no such incentive. Because the UBI cannot be lost, there is no reason to stay unemployed. People will generally choose to better their own lives. In the current system, getting a job sometimes does not accomplish that. With a UBI, there is no reason to not get a job.
If a UBI system were to replace the current welfare system, people would no longer have to stay in bad situations to keep their welfare. The safety net that a UBI provides is secure and cannot be removed, so people will have more freedom to work in jobs they want, move to places where they want to work or live, and generally improve their own lives. The great thing is that the United States can implement a UBI as a replacement for welfare without spending any more money. As the idea of a UBI gains more support, more economists and other crunch the numbers and find that it is doable. It is not easy, however, since there are many political hurdles which must be overcome. Additionally, the policy implemented must be out of reach of ordinary politics in order to be universal and guaranteed.