In a rich society like ours, everybody ought to be able to live comfortably. And maybe the best way to ensure this is just to give out “free money”: to guarantee every citizen a “basic income”. Most economists – and most taxpayers – are aghast at this idea, assuming that “if you hand people free money, they will immediately stop working”, and spend it on fast food and beer. But a World Bank study shows that people work more effectively after they have been lifted out of poverty. Here in the Netherlands, many have no incentive to get off the dole because a minimum-wage job often pays less than unemployment benefits. With a guaranteed income, there’s no such trap: “Work always pays.” Even if a segment of the population remains jobless, the programme would pay for itself, because of the billions saved in welfare bureaucracy, and in reduced crime (another proven benefit). The fact is that our economy does not have enough vacant jobs for everyone, and there’ll be even fewer as robotics and software evolve; many people might be better off volunteering than seeking a dead-end job. “Almost everyone wants to make something of his life and contribute to society.” A basic income makes that possible. (Rutger Bregman, de Volkskrant, Amsterdam)

The above is a long extract, so I will comment on it tomorrow.