Give People Money

How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World

By: Annie Lowrey

Narrated by: Annie Lowrey

Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

Short-listed for the 2018 FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award

A brilliantly reported, global look at universal basic income - a stipend given to every citizen - and why it might be necessary in an age of rising inequality, persistent poverty, and dazzling technology.

Imagine if every month the government deposited $1,000 into your bank account, with nothing expected in return. It sounds crazy. But it has become one of the most influential and hotly debated policy ideas of our time. Futurists, radicals, libertarians, socialists, union representatives, feminists, conservatives, Bernie supporters, development economists, childcare workers, welfare recipients, and politicians from India to Finland to Canada to Mexico - all are talking about UBI.

In this sparkling and provocative book, economics writer Annie Lowrey examines the UBI movement from many angles. She travels to Kenya to see how a UBI is lifting the poorest people on earth out of destitution, India to see how inefficient government programs are failing the poor, South Korea to interrogate UBI’s intellectual pedigree, and Silicon Valley to meet the tech titans financing UBI pilots in expectation of a world with advanced artificial intelligence and little need for human labor.

Lowrey explores the potential of such a sweeping policy and the challenges the movement faces, among them contradictory aims, uncomfortable costs, and, most powerfully, the entrenched belief that no one should get something for nothing. In the end, she shows how this arcane policy has the potential to solve some of our most intractable economic problems while offering a new vision of citizenship and a firmer foundation for our society in this age of turbulence and marvels.

©2018 Annie Lowrey (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Lowrey, a journalist who covers economic policy for The Atlantic, musters considerable research to make the case for a universal basic income - a government-funded cash handout for all.” (New York Times Book Review) 

“Lowrey is a policy person. She is interested in working from the concept down.... Her conscientiously reported book assesses the widespread effects that money and a bit of hope could buy.” (The New Yorker) 

“Annie Lowery has given basic income a wonderful upgrade…[bringing] first-hand accounts of struggling workers all over the world…. A must-read as basic income becomes a more mainstream idea.” (Forbes) 

Liberal whine-fest rather than serious discussion

I’m a supporter of UBI but embarrassed by this book. The author shares her laundry list of what’s wrong with society and asserts that UBI would fix it. She touches on cost but then brushes it away with a “but the government can just print money argument”. She ignores inflationary implications of money printing, but more glaringly, of the UBI itself. In a final insult to the reader, she compares us to the Jetsons. Hardly rigorous analysis. If UBI stands a chance, it will need more competent supporters.

Does not consider hyperinflation

This book is more of a screed against capitalism and “patriarchy” than a feasibility study of UBI in the United States. The author entirely overlooks the existing lack of political appetite for balanced budgets in the US. Her lack of understanding of debt and currency markets is on full display as she suggests the “printing press” as a possible means of financing UBI, and how “the United States is not at risk of running out of dollars”. She must not realize that the US dollar will lose value as fiscal deficits, trade deficits, and foreign creditors would sooner finance UBI for their own nations than for a nation of entitled consumers such as the US. I gave her arguments fair consideration, but she clearly has not given detractors of her reckless monetary policy theories the same consideration.

Tecnicaly is not communism but heavily inspired by

the author does not understand the destructive consequences of a UBI and sadly does not care. why give money to everybody instead of just the poor... the answer "to make everybody guilty of the crime, stilling". in another chapter the author played with the idea of printing money without caring the inflation it will cause!! just because we (the USA) can!.

If you think UBI is a good Idea look at my country Venezuela with inflation of 1,000,000% in 2018.

the one that gives you the money will CONTROL YOU!

A pinch of Ethos, add Logos for flavor

The author does a superb job at voicing her written work, which itself is a great, and (imo) fair look at the concepts, arguments for and against, and real evidences related to UBI. My favorite thing about her wiring style inherent is the adept use of universal (worldwide) anecdote combined with simple, but not simplified, explanations of the research that currently exists. I would even like to pick up a physical copy for the bibliography section!

This book was horrible - Annie takes an unbalanced view toPromote a political agenda

This book is a joke - don’t bother reading it. Full of emotional and illogical argument. Who will pay for this is the ultimate question - which is not answered.

Good ideas, but lacks statistical support

The book is a good frame for a new way of government. It lacks statistical and economics support to actually make it believable.

Eye Opening. Not perfect, but happy with it

As someone who has been generally opposed to the idea of the UBI, I read this book to broaden my perspective and understand what evidence and arguments support it. I was impressed by how much time and effort the author clearly put into writing this book. I also enjoy having the author narrate their own book. One thing that separates this book from others I have read is that Lowrey dedicates sections to the arguments against a UBI and how a UBI could be faulty.

There were potentially too many anecdotes for some readers. While the firsthand interviews with people affected by poverty are valuable, a few less would have sufficed.

Additionally, it would have been interesting if Lowrey reached out not to consumers and citizens, but to small businesses and corporations alike to see how a UBI would affect them. What would stop companies from simply raising their prices to match the increased income of their consumers?

Missed Opportunity

The author misses an opportunity for a substantive discussion of UBI, instead indulging in her own elaboration of Soacialism and a canned analysis of society at large.

I consider myself left of center and I do believe in social nets, but the author indulges in her own little view from the Ivory Tower without any substantive or technical discussion of UBI.

Make sure you understand economics before you read

I was recommended this book after making the statement “Never trust a rich person who supports Universal Basic Income (UBI). He knows that he will only get more money and secure his position as the poor get poorer trading their value-decreasing UBI to the rich for resources. He is trying to screw as much money out of the poor as possible.” So I gave it a read. Right from the very beginning this book leaves out important information, data, and research. Most of the examples are just capitalism shrunk down and then hyper stimulated, and when prosperity resulted they slapped a “UBI” sticker under the guise that money was pumped into a small impoverished economy and people were happy and did well. That’s capitalism (unrealistic, but capitalism none the less) not UBI/socialism. Most of the book seems to be stood on an idea “we gave poor people money and they were happy”. The beginning of the book holds the best points in which we are shown that technology is taking jobs. Everyone know that. So the idea is to replace the income of those jobs with UBI. It is never once mentioned the economic devastations UBI would have, the impact on job growth or the problem of population growth. Lowrey mentions that UBI would help develop the middle class, but as all data shows that most socialistic policies only destroy the middle class and monopolize the rich while locking the poor into poverty as well as slow economic recoveries - not to mention mathematically UBI would make it far more difficult to bridge the gap between the rich and poor - I find her theory of middle class development to be very difficult to believe. I will finish by mentioning this: Remember the statement I made about how you should never trust a rich person who supports UBI? Can you guess Lowrey’s net worth? (Hint, it’s over 1 million dollars)

An intriguing idea

I first heard of the Universal Basic Income (UBI) about a year ago and wished there was a book that discussed it. And here it is. The studies the author cites are quite interesting, though they are generally not studies from Western countries. I did read about a study in Canada in another book. Oh, if only we could have such a thing. It seems unrealistic, but maybe one day. Talking about it, writing about it is the first step to getting the idea out there.