Jonathan Turley (George Washington; Google Scholar), New Study Raises Concerns Over Universal Basic Income Plans:
In my forthcoming book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, I explore how the American republic can survive in the 21st Century given unprecedented economic, technological, and political changes. The book addresses the increasing calls for a universal basic income (UBI). Various Democratic cities are already implementing UBI systems. Now, a new study finds (as did some prior studies) that UBI systems have not achieved significant improvements and may actually have some negative consequences for recipients.
A working paper with the National Bureau of Economic Research [The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Parenting and Children] shows that UBI recipients did indeed spend more money, including a 13 percent increase on child-related expenses. There was also a slight increase in parental supervision of children. However, there was no improved school performance and a slight increase in reported developmental and stress-related problems with children.
Stanford’s Basic Income Lab is tracking more than 160 UBI projects in the U.S. So far, the results are at best mixed. …
It is still early in studying these outcomes but these programs are not showing the downstream benefits predicted by some. Indeed, they may be impacting work hours negatively for recipients in some areas. As various cities like New York move toward socialist candidates and programs, these studies offer a cautionary tale as officials push UBI payments.
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