Universal Basic Income and Job Guarantee Debates

Universal basic income is a regular cash payment to people with no work requirement, and a job guarantee is a promise of paid work to anyone who wants it. Both are proposals for how government could respond to job loss and poverty. They are debated in Congress, in state and local pilot programs, and among economists.

People usually ask how these ideas differ from existing benefits, what they might cost, and how they would affect work and prices. Others ask whether automation and artificial intelligence make such ideas more necessary. Supporters and critics give very different answers to each of these.