Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Finance, the economy & Economics Universal Basic Income? Guaranteed Job?

The common argument against both UBI and JG programs is the need to fund them through taxes or borrowing. This is, however, a specious argument when the Federal Government is the one footing the bill. The Federal Reserve regularly creates new currency when it purchases securities from banks, as it did to the tune of $2+ Trillion during the financial crisis of 2008. The requirement to offset Federal spending through taxes and borrowing is a legal, not a technical, constraint. There is nothing apart from a lack of political will that keeps Federal programs from being directly funded, without regard to effects on the (misleadingly named) Federal budget deficit.