This isn't meant to disparage anyone currently involved in the proposed pilot of a Basic Income for care leavers in Wales. I don't believe for one minute that anyone involved has anything other than good intentions. However, being well intended doesn't stop something from becoming a car crash. And that's what I fear this pilot will become, ultimately setting back the cause of Universal Basic Income potentially by a whole generation.
After having supported the idea for years, and having taken the leap to actively campaigning for it since the start of the pandemic, I was delighted when it finally seemed like Welsh Government was open to the concept. This was followed swiftly by disappointment when it transpired that they didn't seem to understand one of the basic tenets of UBI - the principle that it has to be universal.
Now, you could argue at least it's a start. It's better than nothing, right? I can see why this line of thinking is seductive. It makes people feel good about trying something which is seen as radical, but actually, doing a watered down version doesn't satisfy anyone.
It won't satisfy proponents of the idea, and it won't satisfy those who don't agree with giving out 'free money' (unless you're a Tory party donor, in which it's seemingly fine...) A fudge of a pilot won't be worth the paper it is written on. It is a compromise aimed at appeasing those who don't support UBI, many of whom will never support it, regardless of how worthy the recipients might be.
And this leads to me to the biggest bug bear I have with a care leavers Basic Income pilot. It inherently feeds into the argument that people on low incomes fit neatly into categories of deserving and undeserving. When actually, we all deserve a basic standard living.
We all should have the right to a roof over our heads, food on the table, access to basic utilities, and the ability to make genuine choices about what we do with our lives, without having a financial noose around our necks.
This might seem a tad dramatic but you'd think if the last eighteen months had taught us anything as a species, it's that we are all at the mercy of external forces and it is deeply inhumane to allow people to suffer as a result of these things. Whether it be a pandemic, or a 'natural' disaster, or an economic crash/recession, or a war.
A pilot focused on care leavers is also a distortion of the principles behind UBI. Its universality isn't something that should be compromised away. To do so undermines the definition of the concept, misleading people about what it actually is, right at a time when many campaigners are working hard to establish the idea in people's minds. Muddying the waters in this way is counterproductive to spreading the word about what UBI means.
This in turn can and will be used to undermine it. Say the pilot goes badly, this will then be used as a reason for writing off UBI entirely. Even though the proposed pilot is not in fact UBI at all.
This would greatly suit some who do not believe in those with little being given 'free money' (again, public money being siphoned to government chums at a time of crisis...) This line of thinking would then bleed into the public consciousness, setting UBI back a whole generation.
Those who are in the middle ground on this issue need to seriously reflect on how going down this road will give ammo to those who have no interest in helping people who genuinely need assistance. If you truly believe in a society where people are free to live their lives the way they want, without being shackled by poverty, then you need to stand with those of us who are calling for the reach of the pilot to be expanded.
There's no fence sitting option available here. It's about basic rights, dignity, and freedom. If we can't stand up for those things now, when everything is falling apart and we have an opportunity to nurture a better way of living, then when can we?
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