Universal Basic Income: The way of the future or a work-crippling safety net?

Universal basic income is being touted as a solution to a growing poverty problem in the United States.

The concept is simple: everyone, working or not, would get a certain amount of money each week, month, or year to do with what they want. Some believe that this would go in place of other social programs like medical assistance and food stamps. Others believe it should be in addition to those programs.

Then there are the skeptics who believe that universal basic income is too expensive to be sustainable and that it undermines the networks in place like Social Security which forces people to think about their future.

Host Chris Farrell talked about all these aspects of universal basic income with two guests. Michael Howard, a philosophy professor at the University of Maine who has done extensive research on universal basic income. And 47th Ward Alderman Ameya Pawar, who has worked to bring universal income to Chicago.

Click the audio player above to listen to the conversation