The Pros And Cons Of Universal Basic Income

With Artificial Intelligence on the rise, an estimated forty percent of American jobs could potentially be filled by robots within the next ten to fifteen years. Contributing to the high unemployment rates already prevalent in the United States, introducing more robots to the workforce has the potential to leave up to seventy-five percent of Americans with no source of income. While in certain aspects, Artificial Intelligence may have positive impacts on society, it is dramatically diminishing the amount of human-operated jobs across the globe. Gradually, the “upper class” will slip into the “middle class,” and the middle class will fall into the “lower class,” resulting in the skyrocket of American poverty rates. The solution to this detrimental issue, a Universal Basic Income, granting every person, no matter their “status” or wealth, monthly payments of equal

While this idea may appear innovative and fresh, this is not the first time the implementation of a UBI has been discussed. In fact, Thomas Paine initially proposed the idea as early as 1792, while modern influencers such as Barack Obama and Elon Musk have demonstrated their support as well (Johnson). It may seem to be a great concept, but expectedly, its downsides are seldom shared by its supporters. Universal Basic Income is merely like putting a bandaid on a bullet hole. It may temporarily tend to the wound, but as time goes by and it does not heal, it will require far more care. Even though UBI may temporarily fix poverty in the United States, it will create detrimental problems of its own.

With the implementation of a Universal Basic Income as a possibility, the United States is simply welcoming there severe social impacts, and the potential to create a social hierarchy. If the leaders of America