When an idea stirs the popular imagination, pundits and politicians find it hard to resist.
Never mind if there is no evidence to support it. Never mind if closer scrutiny suggests putting it into practice will be counterproductive or plain impossible.
What matters is the platform it provides for its champions, the energy it generates and the votes it wins. Brexit is one example. President Donald Trump’s Mexican wall is another. And I would add a third: universal basic income (UBI) – the idea that every citizen receives a weekly or monthly lump sum from the government, whether they’re employed or not.
The case against UBI is building rapidly. But so is the clamor to try it out in states and cities around the world. That the latter seems immune to the former is alarming. And the fact that it’s promoted by radicals at both ends of the political spectrum should ring alarm bells.
Source
: huffingtonpost
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