Universal Basic Trap
What is the real motive behind Universal Basic Income?
An audio version of my post.
I was talking to a group of friends on Sunday and the subject of the UK General Election came up. I’m no fan of Keir Starmer (the new UK Prime Minister) - or of any of the other parties or leaders for that matter.
I said to my friends: “He’ll bring in Universal Basic Income with a great fanfare, probably after some great crisis like war, disease or collapse of the food system and the economy. It’ll be ‘to bring dignity to the poor’ or something.
“But the real reason will be to get people away from cash and into CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies). Because you won’t be allowed to get your UBI payments without digital ID, and they will be issued via a CBDC (although it will likely have a different name).
“Problem - reaction - solution.
“The Tories and Reform will all be up in arms against it - divide and conquer. Playing left against right.”
I can imagine Starmer’s triumphant speeches as the “historic landmark” is introduced.
“Never again will mothers have to work three jobs just to be able to feed their families. Never again will children have to go to school without breakfast because their father has squandered the family food money.”
Laudable aims. But if the payments are only achievable by digital means, we will know the real motive behind this measure.
Maybe the payments will be available in cash initially, with other “problem-reaction-solution” crises brought in later to enforce digital payments. Ultimately, that’s where I believe this is leading.
I hope I’m wrong.
Politicians don’t give away free money out of generosity or because they really care!
I’m not a prophet. I don’t have second sight. I hadn’t seen the papers that morning (I avoid the mainstream media these days). But an article about Universal Basic Income has just been promoted to me via my Mozilla browser.
The article is from last Sunday’s Observer, and it confuses Universal Basic Income with basic incomes allocated to specific sectors of society, which is an important distinction in economic terms.
It raises some interesting questions. But its heading seeds the idea of an entitlement to a living in people’s minds.
People will effectively be paid to accept digital ID and central bank digital currencies. Incentivised.
In my opinion, this will likely increase inflation, make more people dependent on the State, and lift few, if any people, out of poverty.