Could a Universal Basic Income (UBI) work in NZ?

Each week the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's whether a UBI could work in NZ, and what the alternatives are. Hosted by Frances Cook.<br /><br />A rather radical idea has been getting more mainstream attention lately – the idea of a Universal Basic Income, or UBI. <br /><br />There are lots of different variations of it, but in its simplest form it's the idea that everyone gets a set amount of money, no questions asked, whether they're working or not, and with no means testing. <br /><br />It's a response to some fairly big problems in our society. <br /><br />There's widening inequality, with some people becoming richer, but others becoming poorer and feeling stuck there. <br /><br />Work is also more precarious. <br /><br />The gig economy is of course notorious for resulting in unstable and low paid work.<br /><br />But even if you take the time to develop skills and build a career, the digital revolution is requiring us to change careers far more often than in the past. <br /><br />It's all quite unsettling, and can lead to people facing difficult financial situations through no fault of their own. <br /><br />So is a universal basic income the answer to these problems? Researchers in New Zealand have actually been looking into this, and the answer is; maybe. <br /><br />Jess Berentson-Shaw, co-director of the think tank The Workshop, came on the latest Cooking the Books podcast. <br /><br />We discussed the UBI strengths, weaknesses, and the possible alternative systems.<br /><br />If you have a question you'd like answered in a future podcast, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/" rel="noopener">https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/</a> Instagram here <a href="https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/" rel="noopener">https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/</a> and Twitter here <a href="https://twitter.com/FrancesCook" rel="noopener">https://twitter.com/FrancesC