Universe Explorer

Universal Equal Income (UEI) A Universal Basic Income (UBI) will never happen. It has always been an impractical idea due to its enormous cost. You cannot offer unconditional government income while people are still working and paying taxes. Those receiving the money would be free-riding on the backs of the workers. Taking government support unnecessarily is doubly immoral. It both burdens the taxpayers who fund the system and diverts resources from people who genuinely need help. Unconditional income replacement becomes realistic only when AI and robots take over all human labor. At the current accelerating pace of AI development, this is likely to happen by 2030. This future income will not be a basic income. It will match the average of the wages and salaries lost to automation. In today’s terms, it will be roughly equal to the current average income. That’s why I propose calling it Universal Equal Income (UEI). The income will be: - Universal (unconditional and available to everyone) - Equal (the same amount for all, not low or high) The name UEI also closely resembles UBI, making the distinction easier to grasp. By 2028, AI and robotics will be displacing jobs faster than new ones can be created. That is when governments will need to begin UEI payments. Do not expect governments to discuss UEI ahead of time. They will likely avoid the topic because they don’t want people relying on welfare too soon. In the short term, those who are unemployed should continue seeking other employment. UEI will be funded by a sales tax. This tax will effectively recover the money companies used to spend on wages and salaries. The collected funds will then be distributed equally: first to the unemployed, and eventually to all adults. As AI and robots increase productivity, both the quantity and quality of goods and services will dramatically increase. This will cause prices to fall significantly, increasing the real purchasing power of UEI. For this reason, some people refer to the payments as Universal High Income (UHI). However, I prefer the term UEI because calling it a high income implies that it may be higher than other incomes. UEI is neither basic nor high. It is equal. And many people naturally love the ideal of equality.