Give People Money

April 16, 2018
What would happen if everyone received $1,000 from the government each month, no strings attached? Lowrey, a contributing editor for Atlantic magazine, examines the promises and pitfalls of a universal basic income, or UBI, in this complex analysis. Considering examples such as Iran, which replaced subsidies for certain goods with a UBI in 2010, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, whose tribal members receive profit payouts on tribally owned casinos, Lowrey debunks the main critique leveled against UBI: that it would disincentivize work. Drawing on interviews with tech tycoons, development economists, and a diverse sample of the world’s poor, she persuasively argues that UBI would actually stimulate higher levels of investment in small businesses, increase workers’ bargaining power, and serve as a buffer against the technological advances that are likely to replace workers with robots. Lowrey is at her best discussing the potential role UBI could play in achieving development outcomes in places like Jharkhand, one of India’s poorest states and a prime example of the inefficiency of traditional state-funded poverty alleviation programs. This book is a lively introduction to a seemingly quixotic concept that has attracted thinkers from John Stuart Mill to Martin Luther King Jr., and that continues to provoke. Agent: Chris Parris-Lamb, the Gernert Co.

May 1, 2018

Atlantic contributing editor Lowrey explores and ultimately advocates for universal basic income (UBI). This is a set amount of money (e.g., $1,000 per month) granted by the government to all residents regardless of any other factor. There is no means testing. The funds are meant to lift everyone out of poverty without providing beyond that, hence the word basic. It is, perhaps, the purest form of a welfare state nostrum. Variants of this have been advocated over the years by some on both the left and the right. President Richard Nixon proposed a version known as a negative income tax. Lowrey does a decent job of describing UBI and giving the reasons adduced in support of it. She also acknowledges objections and concerns, both economic and cultural. She recognizes the evidence that welfare state policies are most likely to be adopted in ethnically homogeneous societies but almost totally ignores this obstacle for the United States for the rest of the book. VERDICT The narrative tends to be stronger on anecdote than analysis and further discusses welfare policies other than UBI, thus losing focus. This will appeal to those seeking a popular journalistic defense of welfare state policies.--Shmuel Ben-Gad, Gelman Lib., George Washington Univ., Washington, DC

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2018
A journalist who focuses on economic policy explores the idea of reducing poverty through recurring government payments to every adult citizen.The concept of a "universal basic income" seems straightforward. As Atlantic contributing editor Lowrey writes, "it is universal, in the sense that every resident of a given community or country receives it. It is basic, in that it is just enough to live on and not more. And it is income." The author explores UBI proposals from three angles: how the money could affect the desire for employment, the effectiveness of the payments in helping to ameliorate poverty, and how well the payments would bring about social inclusion within given community. Much of Lowrey's exploration is theoretical since UBI experiments are few and far between. Her research took her to often isolated, impoverished areas of Kenya, India, and the United States. In the U.S., the author writes about how many of the impoverished citizens she met had previously functioned well economically, partly because workers could join labor unions that advocated successfully for decent wages, on-the-job safety regulations, affordable health care, payment of school tuitions, sick leaves, maternity and paternity leaves, and the like. As employers dismantled unions--often abetted by Republican presidents and members of Congress--without punishment, an increasing number of laborers became unemployed or underemployed. Some ended up bankrupt and/or homeless. Outside of the U.S., Lowrey's findings are murkier. The laws and customs of different nations vary widely, and the concept of "poverty" means something different--and is far more consequential--to families that cannot afford to put food on the table or find suitable housing. Pilot programs in portions of Mexico and Brazil had led to further experiments in other nations, but interpreting the minimal data from the experiments feels premature. For now, though, Lowrey offers a good starting point.A useful primer on a highly contentious topic.

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June 1, 2018
Give people money, and that will end poverty. This seemingly naive proposition is actually working, as case studies prove, in controlled populations where provided funds raise incomes above poverty levels. Research dispels myths, such as handing out money makes people lazy (in reality, workers put in more hours once they find meaningful employment) or that free funds decrease production levels (many entrepreneurs expand their businesses once they have the means to do so). Not every attempt has been successful, underlining the need to manage distribution carefully, thus insuring that funds reach intended recipients. Universal basic income movements, using funds provided by both private entities and governments, are gathering momentum, from initial attempts in Africa and India to current endeavors in San Francisco, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, and potentially Scotland. Lowrey, economic policy reporter for the Atlantic, maintains that just like on The Jetsons or Star Trek, we now have the technology to manipulate and redistribute money. Perhaps it's time to consider a move toward a cashless, and hopefully more equitable, global society.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)