Universal Basic Income Programs Are Guaranteed Failures

Universal Basic Income (UBI) programs (sometimes called Guaranteed Income programs) are expanding around the United States, unfortunately. In St. Louis, the city passed a new pilot guaranteed income program that has been halted by the courts, at least for now.

In a UBI program, lower-income people are guaranteed an amount of money from the government. (In theory, that “guaranteed income” would apply to everyone, but so far most programs around the country have just been enacted for lower-income people.) UBI programs are different from the myriad other welfare programs in that there are generally no rules on how the money is spent and the requirements for admission into the program are easier. Compare this to food stamps and Section 8 housing vouchers, which obviously can only be spent on food and rent, respectively, and the general complexity of many other welfare programs.

Two studies have been released recently that actually tried to properly account for the success or failure of UBI programs in Denver, Texas, and Illinois. The results aren’t pretty. In Denver, the UBI program was focused on finding housing for the homeless. However, there was almost no difference in results between the groups that received significant sums of money and the control group that only received $50 per month. The control group did just as well at finding housing as the other two groups over the course of a year. While supporters of the program are trying to paint it as a success, the fact is that many homeless people eventually find housing, and the UBI payments made no difference in the results.

In Texas and Illinois, a UBI program gave some people $1,000 a month and a control group $50 per month. After the period of the program, the control group—who received less money—had a higher employment rate and were in better financial position:

The study, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic when unemployment was high, found that employment rates fell in the second and third years among recipients compared with the control group. On average, incomes rose significantly for all groups, though slightly higher for the control group. Incomes for recipients of the $1,000 rose from just under $30,000 to $45,710, while incomes for the control group started at a similar level but grew higher, to $50,970.

People responded to receiving free money by working less, which is exactly what you might expect. It’s also exactly the wrong way to help address poverty. The pilot program in St. Louis should be ended. The Missouri Constitution prohibits gifts to private individuals, and that is exactly what a UBI program is. But this would be a bad idea even aside from the legal issues. UBI programs just don’t work.