B2 Reading: Universal Basic Income, Safety Net or Expensive Dream?
Read the article about universal basic income and fill in the gaps.
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Universal basic income (UBI) is a deceptively simple idea: the state pays every adult a regular sum of money, with no strings attached. Unlike most welfare , it is not means-tested, so a millionaire would receive exactly the same amount as someone who is out of work.
The idea has been around for centuries, but it has returned to the headlines because of artificial intelligence. As AI more office work, some tech leaders argue that a basic income will be the only way to protect people whose jobs disappear. Elon Musk has even called for a "universal high income". Others are less sure: Sam Altman, whose research group funded one of the biggest studies, said in 2026 that he had become less convinced by the idea.
So what does the say? Finland's two-year trial, which gave 2,000 unemployed people €560 a month, had little effect on employment, but participants reported less stress and greater . In Germany, 107 people received €1,200 a month for three years; they did not cut their working hours, and they saved far more than people without the payment. A large US study, which paid 1,000 people $1,000 a month, painted a more mixed picture: recipients worked about 1.3 hours a week less, and early improvements in their mental health over time.
Supporters see UBI as a modern safety : simple to run, free of humiliating paperwork, and giving people the to retrain, care for relatives or take a risk on a new business. Critics point out that most trials were small, temporary and paid for by charities, so they cannot show how a whole economy would react. The biggest is cost. Paying every American adult $1,000 a month would cost more than $3 trillion a year, which would mean much higher or deep cuts elsewhere. There are also concerns that a guaranteed income could act as a to work, and that giving money to the wealthy is a poor use of public funds.
When Swiss voters were asked about a basic income in 2016, 77% it. A decade later, with AI changing the world of work, the debate is far from .
The idea has been around for centuries, but it has returned to the headlines because of artificial intelligence. As AI more office work, some tech leaders argue that a basic income will be the only way to protect people whose jobs disappear. Elon Musk has even called for a "universal high income". Others are less sure: Sam Altman, whose research group funded one of the biggest studies, said in 2026 that he had become less convinced by the idea.
So what does the say? Finland's two-year trial, which gave 2,000 unemployed people €560 a month, had little effect on employment, but participants reported less stress and greater . In Germany, 107 people received €1,200 a month for three years; they did not cut their working hours, and they saved far more than people without the payment. A large US study, which paid 1,000 people $1,000 a month, painted a more mixed picture: recipients worked about 1.3 hours a week less, and early improvements in their mental health over time.
Supporters see UBI as a modern safety : simple to run, free of humiliating paperwork, and giving people the to retrain, care for relatives or take a risk on a new business. Critics point out that most trials were small, temporary and paid for by charities, so they cannot show how a whole economy would react. The biggest is cost. Paying every American adult $1,000 a month would cost more than $3 trillion a year, which would mean much higher or deep cuts elsewhere. There are also concerns that a guaranteed income could act as a to work, and that giving money to the wealthy is a poor use of public funds.
When Swiss voters were asked about a basic income in 2016, 77% it. A decade later, with AI changing the world of work, the debate is far from .