Hundreds of studies from all over the world, from wealthy European countries to countries in the trenches of extreme poverty, show the same thing: Recipients of UBI spend that money on food, housing, education, paying down debt, investing in the future and generally improving their lives, pretty much universally.
They use the money to pay the first and last month’s rent on a better apartment. They buy school supplies and clothes for their kids. They go to the doctor for preventative care, seek mental health support, and get their kids glasses. They start a retirement fund. They can afford better quality food and repairs on their homes, appliances and cars. Many use the money to start a business or invest.
Know what they tend NOT to do? The vast majority do not buy drugs, they don’t drink it all away, they don’t gamble it away and they don’t blow it all on scratchers, iPhones or garish clothes. They aren’t disincentivized to work. None of those things are morally bad or wrong, but they are the most common arguments against UBI: “MEEEHHHHH WE CAN’T GIVE PEOPLE FREE MONEY THEY WON’T WORK AND THEY’LL BUY DRUUUUUGS!” Take a wild guess who is most often accused of spending money on drugs, scratchers and jewelry. Yep, POC. The mythical “welfare queen” we were all told to hate is a racist stereotype based on a handful of anecdotes during Reagan’s presidency and perpetuated by conservative white people who can’t handle the concept of sharing resources with someone who might be a little poorer, sicker, or darker than they are. Using the term “welfare queen” is a good indicator to me that they watch Fox “News” every day and haven’t had a thought of their own since the Gulf War.
Poverty is a failure of society, not the individual. Trapping people in shit jobs by tying their healthcare to employment is yet another way to abuse people just trying to (barely) survive. Stripping a disabled person of their social security for getting a job (because disability pay is such a pittance it’s embarrassing) is bullshit. UBI doesn’t disincentivize people from working, the way that capitalism works does. Creating a safety net won’t turn us all into lazy layabouts sitting at home on the couch eating chips all day, making it more of a pain in the ass just to live by jumping through endless hoops, meeting ridiculous job-hunting quotas, and peeing in a cup for the privilege of a few dollars a month in food stamps does. Learned helplessness is a result of a broken system that punishes you for following the rules.
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