Disastrous Universal Basic Income Experiment Saw People Work Less, Relax More

 The results of the biggest experiment in Universal Basic Income (UBI) are in, and they’re not good.

Universal Basic Income is a welfare proposal embraced by progressive Democrats like Andrew Yang, who popularized the idea on the 2020 campaign trail.

The idea is the government gives every adult citizen free money unconditionally every month to meet their basic needs, which frees them up to start a business, stay home with their children, or invest in another goal.

In July, the National Bureau of Economic Research analyzed the biggest UBI program to date, which was run by two nonprofits. It was the “largest unconditional cash transfer program evaluated by a randomized controlled trial” ever done in the country, researchers said.

The program gave $1,000 a month to 1,000 low-income individuals for three years. A control group of 2,000 people were given just $50 a month.

The average household income among participants, who were between the ages of 21 and 40, was $29,900, so with the extra money their income jumped by about 40%.

The result was that people worked less.

With an extra $1,000 hitting their bank accounts every month, recipients worked about 1.4 hours less per week. The romantic partners of recipients reduced their working hours by about the same amount.

The total individual income fell about $1,500 per year excluding the $1000, compared to the control group. For every one dollar received, total household income fell by at least 21 cents, and total individual income fell by at least 12 cents, not including the extra $1,000.

Labor market participation also dropped two percentage points among participants, the analysis found.

So what did participants do with their extra time?

Leisure time saw the biggest jump. Driving, errands, and self care saw smaller increases in time spent.

Participants spent less time searching for a job, taking care of children, and on self-improvement.

The results of the experiment are disastrous for supporters of UBI, who insist that low-income people would be disciplined in their use of a supplemental income, using it to climb out of poverty and invest in their future.

Back in 2019, “squad” member Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) introduced a bill to give every adult $3,000 a year even if they earn $0.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, proposed a bill during the pandemic while she was a California senator that would have given $2,000 a month to every adult, and more for up to three children. A family of five would have raked in an eye-popping $10,000 a month under Harris’ legislation.

In reality, without the pressure to earn that extra $1,000 a month — enough to pay rent in many areas — people simply worked less and spent more time relaxing, this experiment found.

The results of the UBI experiment also carry implications for the many welfare programs that conservatives have long criticized as trapping people in poverty.