"They Just Don't Have It"

"'The effects of unconditional cash transfers' included 'a significant increase in … quality of life benefits,' Ioana Marinescu of the University of Chicago noted in a recent report. Those included improvements in 'mental and physical health, education outcomes, parenting [and] reduced criminal activity.' Studies found either no impact or a slight decrease in labor participation, but some of that may have been due to recipients leaving workplace jobs to care for family members, including children, at home.

"Those results show that 'poor people and the middle class know best how to spend their money,' says Foster."

Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times looks at the discussion over universal basic income.