Opinion: The trap that is Universal Basic Income, ‘There is no such thing as a free lunch’

Thank you to Truth Reporter for submitting this opinion piece to Unity News Network. 

In the current climate of fear, panic and hyperbole there is an abundance of talking heads and elites throwing their solutions into the mix. Today we saw the despicable spectacle of Gordon Brown, the failed Labour leader who sold half of the UK’s gold reserves for a song pushing the idea that there should be a single global government to steer us through this turbulent time.

Such ideas have previously been dismissed as the conjecture of fringe lunatics but today those who were previously labelled as insane have been vindicated. Those who laughed at David Icke and his kind have been now firmly put in their place. The cabal of globalists rarely miss any opportunity to advance their agenda and the current pandemic event is a wide open goal into which the globalists can score.

The question we must ask however is how would governments be persuaded to cede powers to a globalised authority? Some have already gone a long way down this road, the members of the EU are already well-conditioned in accepting supranational authority. We have only to watch the ravings of Guy Verhofstadt to understand the inner workings of the globalist mind. They regard the general population as mere units of production. The globalist sees only a number, not a living thinking being who can be herded, cajoled, indoctrinated and ultimately exploited for their productive labour.  

Other world powers are less keen on being reduced to a mere district of a global community. History is littered with the sad evidence of larger powers attempting, and in many cases succeeding in toppling smaller governments to achieve their geopolitical aims but to achieve this on a worldwide scale is another thing entirely. 

Sending arms to rebel factions or funding friendly regimes in proxy wars is fine if you want to gain access to oil or mineral wealth but this approach will not tempt entire populations to coalesce around a single idea, however there is one thing that you can use for this purpose – money.

You only need to listen to the news for a few minutes at the moment to understand people are worried about their livelihoods. People are being made redundant across the world right now as businesses that have been forced to shut down shed staff at an alarming rate. US unemployment data published earlier today shows 3.3million people sought unemployment benefits in the US this month. 

It does not require much to convince people who are already scared of being infected with a virus and dealing with financial stress that things are going to get worse – catastrophic thinking, once it sets in can easily spiral into desperation and panic – and we have had too many examples of this in recent days. 

Universal Basic Income (UBI) has been proposed as a solution to such a variety of social and political issues that it is probably best described as political snake oil. The concept basically revolves around paying all members of society a basic wage providing (in sterling terms) approximately the first £5000 per annum of everyone’s income irrespective if they are in employment or not. 

The rationale for this is that it would streamline the benefits system and provide a guaranteed level of income for all. This would, according to the scheme’s proponents mean that the overall social wellbeing of the nation would improve – with people not having to worry about getting by they could exploit training and education, improve their skills and become part of an aspirational tidal wave – driving the nation forward on its crest. 

If the above sounds like some kind of socialist utopian dream then you’re on the right track. UBI sounds wonderful when praised by its supporters but there are a number of big problems. First, all economists project that taxation on the productive economy would have to increase to support this plan. Consider if you will, the implications of making every adult in the country a client of the state. 

What if you’re a hard-working self-employed person? Maybe you prefer to make your own way in the world, pay your own way with the products of your own labour. This is no longer acceptable, UBI means that you’ll be taxed at excruciating rates to pay for UBI – the product of your labour will be given to others who may not share your work ethic. So do you accept that your money will be given to others and refuse UBI or do you comply and take the money and become part of the machine?

For the feckless and the unproductive UBI is a gift of staggering generosity which only encourages further dependence and inaction. For the productive UBI is simply another huge burden and a disincentive to enterprise and aspiration. 

The arguments against UBI have so far been convincing but imagine a world in which suddenly many millions of people have become unemployed or that suddenly you can’t leave your house for weeks on end. By definition a pandemic is a disease which spreads worldwide  – instantaneously the global population are now ripe for the UBI pitch to be made. UBI will give everyone a guaranteed basic income no matter what. Imagine if a cabal of globalists started preaching that if you join our one world government then you’ll get UBI. 

If the COVID19 crisis continues then the globalists could use their UBI pitch to subvert governments on a worldwide scale. Imagine the power of a worldwide movement for UBI driven by panic, desperation and social media. Imagine the orthodoxy of Extinction Rebellion and their globalist backers expanded into a movement for UBI on the basis that it is somehow a solution to all of mankind’s problems. What government would be able to stand up to such pressure?

Gordon Brown may be a spent force in UK politics but he still maintains a global reach within his globalist network. His words today on global governance may sound outlandish and improbable but in a few paragraphs, I have managed to explain a route that could enable it to happen. 

My father taught me a very valuable lesson early on. He said ‘there is no such thing as a free lunch’ – UBI might look like a free lunch but you’ll be expected to trade your freedoms and privacy to get it. I don’t think it’s a good deal.

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