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2022: Creating a Lexicon of Future

U is for Universal Basic Income

Ruth Glendinning
4 min readJan 12, 2022

Universal basic income (UBI) is a sociopolitical financial transfer policy proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a legally stipulated and equal financial grant paid by the government without a means test. A basic income can be implemented nationally, regionally, or locally. If the level is sufficient to meet a person’s basic needs (i.e., at or above the poverty line), it is sometimes called a full basic income; if it is less than that amount, it may be called a partial basic income. Some have labelled UBI as utopian due to its historical origin. ~ Wikipedia

In its purest form, a basic income is an unconditional, periodic cash payment that the government makes to everyone. It is not based on means-testing, which means that a hedge fund manager and a homeless person receive the same amount.

There are no strings attached with a UBI, so there are no requirements to work, attend school, receive vaccines, register for military service, or vote. It is not paid in kind — housing, food — or in vouchers. It is a floor below which no one’s cash income can fall. ~ Investopedia

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Ruth Glendinning
Ruth Glendinning

Written by Ruth Glendinning

Community Architect // Published Poet // Future Story Lab // Anti-Fragile Playbook // S.L.O.W. Tech // #womenswork Buy my book! https://a.co/d/5MG47Di

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