By: Natalie Coleman
October 4, 2019
A popular argument levied by opponents of universal basic income (UBI) — an unconditional, periodic payment given to all members of a society — is that recipients will use the money on frivolous purchases.
But the first data is finally trickling in from a UBI experiment in Stockton, California — and it seems most of the 125 people in the program used the $500 they received each month for food, utility bills, and clothing.
A new Associated Press story breaks down the spending: recipients spent about 40 percent of the funds on food, 24 percent on sales and merchandise, and 11 percent on utility bills. They spent the remainder on car maintenance, medical expenses, insurance, education, self care, and even donations.
One recipient, Zhona Everett, 48, told the AP that she and her husband — a truck driver — each earned barely $100 a day.