The concept of a universal basic income – UBI – seems to be gaining some traction in various quarters around the world and this book is a very readable and informative guide to its pros and cons. Author Annie Lowrey looks at UBI as a way of addressing changes in the structure of employment brought about by new technology, a way of levelling out the social inequalities perpetuated by a welfare system and as a way of minimising extreme poverty. She looks at projects in Kenya and India, but her detailed analysis of why a UBI is needed, what it might cost and what impact it could have are focused on the US. She’s an American, so that’s unsurprising, but as a British reader I would naturally have liked some discussions of the effect a UBI could have in the UK. That’s a minor caveat, though, because overall I found this a very interesting introduction to an important idea.

The author of this book is a very clever and well regarded economist, so I wasn't surprised to learn that this book had been written or that the author's personal opinions became obvious.

UBI has been gaining media coverage recently so I came to the book already with the view that a basic income for all might just be the answer to several problems in our world. I enjoyed reading the arguments and reasoning in more depth, it wasn't hard to comprehend and made even more sense by the end.

My only issue is the length of the book, which felt padded out at times but this didn't stop me from already recommending the book to others!

When I heard about this book I knew it was something I had to read. Universal Basic Income (UBI) is something I have hear murmurings about but it isn't something I knew about in detail. Many different countries have looked at implementing a form of UBI, which is giving people, all people, a basic income regardless of their working status. Indeed some countries already do it or have started experimenting with it. Proponents say it will end poverty and ensure everyone gets their basic rights met.

Lowrey takes us on a journey across countries, events and industries, speaking to those who are both for and against the idea. She does a good job of balancing the arguments although I did feel at times it was clear she felt UBI was a good idea..

It's a fairly short book and I think the author did an amazing job at pulling together all the research she conducted. The weak parts of the book for me were the epilogue - it made strange comparisons to science fiction movies and TV shows which I didn't feel added anything to the book - and the huge focus on the US. I struggle with books when constant references to "we" and "us" only apply to those living in the US.

Overall this was really enjoyable and if you're looking to find out more about UBI (or, like me, didn't really know anything about it) then I recommend it.

Annie Lowrey fully supports UBIs (Universal Basic Income) - amongst other ideas, she poses convincing arguments on how it would end poverty, fight racism and gender inequality, make our society able to tackle the pending robotic workforce upheaval, and how it could prevent Trumps and other populist political disasters from reoccurring.

This book comes across like a life mission, it's very well researched and very passionate about the benefits that UBIs could provide. I'm not convinced it had the legs for a book of this size - it would make a good essay but contains too many case studies and facts that aren't needed (though the Forbes review said the opposite - they prefer case studies and wanted less facts - guess you can't please everyone!). For example, there's a chapter about carers: Yep, carers, mostly women, are uncompensated, but it didn't need that many pages labouring on the justification - it's undeniable and didn't need that level of expansion. Also, end of chapter conclusions tend to repeat ideas, as though the book is a collection of essays gelled together into a whole.

Annie's ideas are compelling but the arguments are very one-sided, she fleetingly dabbles with opposing views, but they're quickly dismissed. I would've liked to have seen a chapter or two detailing the critics' biggest concerns, with as much thought given to their arguments as to hers.

Book kindly supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.

An easy to read book and an interesting concept. I hadn't heard of UBI before but my husband has always said that the government should give everyone a lump sum when they retired and that would have to last till you died! He thought £1,000,000 would cover everything! Not very realistic but that was one of the reasons I wanted to read this book. A good read.

I’m usually to be found at the fluffier end of the non-fiction spectrum, enjoying books with colourful pictures and ingredient lists.
But I’ve heard of the concept of a Universal Basic Income – a regular payment, paid to every citizen, just for being alive. Could it eliminate poverty? Would it be more effective than means-tested welfare programmes? I wanted to know more.
Lowrey brings her research alive with stories of ordinary people and some of these (most memorably in the chapter The Poverty Hack, where she looks at schemes such as Give Direct) were quite inspiring.
However, because so much of it was a very detailed look at the American welfare system, I felt like a caring spectator rather than a stakeholder. I want to know how it could work here in Britain.
I did find the book quite hard-going at times. It is (rightly), very thorough. Lowrey makes a point and comprehensively backs it up. Personally, I would have been happy for her to make the point, give a few brief examples and move on. The problem is me, rather than the book.
But if radical policies like this are to be adopted, they need the support of the layperson like me, who has no education in economics and just wants to know the whys and hows.
So I applaud this work, recommend it to my more serious-minded friends and look forward to the short, simplified version, with a British focus, colourful pictures and ..er…lists of ingredients…
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I recently listened to a radio discussion on universal basic income (UBI) and was intrigued by the subject and so was very pleased to be given the opportunity to read this book.
I was pleased to find it easy to read and pitched at a good level of information without being patronising. Ms Lowrey certainly seems an advocate of the idea and although I'm still unsure whether I'm for or against I certainly feel better informed.

Give People Money by Annie Lowrey a four-star read that will spin your world. Going into this book I knew a little about the whole concept as I had seen a program about it and when I saw this book I wanted to know more. I’m even more confused now, this book gave some great aspects of how it would affect people and how life would be different. But the author does have a bias and it shows in the book. But it will open your mind and make you wonder if we should go about things differently. If this book gets more people talking about UBI, then it does the right job. On a personal note I don’t know if it was my personal circumstances as my husband was just made redundant and told that he was over qualified for a whole lot of jobs he has gone for but I can honestly say if I had read this book a couple of months ago it would have been a much different read.

What would happen if everyone received a basic income, regardless of their circumstances? Total anarchy? People quitting their jobs in droves? A boost to the world economy? These are just some of the things Lowrey discusses in the book.

I thought the author came up with some interesting examples and arguments for the pros and cons of UBI. As the author points out, there are holes big enough to fly the space shuttle through in many of the 'safety nets' around the world. Personally I am in support of the UBI as I don't believe in splitting people into 'deserving' and 'undeserving'. Also I would hold off on praising the UK system as the present government seems hellbent on taking us more into the US-style of welfare.

I felt it fell down a little when it came to actually how this could be implemented. Of course, one person is not going to have the answers but I was left with more questions at the end of this. Intriguing book though.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

I read this because I know next to nothing about the argument for UBI. This is probably not the most rigorously academic of texts on the subject but it is well reasoned, well thought out and well presented. It was a perfect introduction for me in fact, talking intelligently at a level that assumes you know little but can pick up the gist quickly. Lowry meticulously builds her argument rather than setting out her stall and spending the entire book saying ‘and here’s why I’m right’. It was fascinating and in many ways quite uplifting. If it is something that can be adopted for the future it would be wonderful. I am afraid to hope!