ABSTRACT
This chapter lays out some of the main arguments against a universal basic income. It examines the costs linked to basic income, including a discussion of the problems with raising resources through different kinds of taxes, including ‘wealth taxes’ and ‘eco-taxes’. It examines Charles Murray’s idea of ‘the underclass’ and the problem of ‘welfare dependency’, discussing how a universal basic income could discourage people from work, resulting in social decay and disorder. The chapter also poses several alternatives to basic income, such as endowment or stake-holding policies and plans for an ‘annual cash grant’. The chapter discusses how universal basic income can reinforce the sexual division of labour, exacerbating the social position of women in the home and in the workplace. It also looks at the strengthening of national identity, notions of insider/outsider, and adverse perceptions of migrant workers, citizenship and rights to a universal basic income.
