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Analysis

Money for Nothing

Analysis

BBC

News, Politics

4.61K Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2016

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Should the state pay everyone a Universal Basic Income? Sonia Sodha finds out why the idea is winning support from an unlikely alliance of leftists and libertarians. Producer: Helen Grady.

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:02.0

Today we have a glimpse into a political future,

0:05.0

an intensely relaxed future.

0:07.4

Well, perhaps.

0:08.8

Here's Sonia Soda and she's taking it easy.

0:12.0

But now it's strictly blues versus reds.

0:15.0

Okay, TV's on, cushions pumped up,

0:19.0

critics at the ready,

0:21.0

and even better, the government's paying me to couch surf

0:25.0

whether I look for a job or not

0:27.0

or it could be

0:29.0

what if we had a new right

0:31.0

the right to be lazy. Everyone would get paid something regardless of how much

0:37.4

or how little work we did. Whether you like that idea, or are horrified by it sounds a bit bizarre doesn't it?

0:45.0

Yet the idea behind this vision is flavor of the month amongst the policy wonks.

0:50.0

If you look at the history of the labor movement,

0:52.0

the very first thing the labor movement tried to do was to reduce the working week.

0:55.7

It tried to get rid of work.

0:57.6

So I think it's a return to the very original impetus of the labor movement.

1:01.6

Do you think people have got a right to be idle?

1:04.6

Is that something that you would stand by?

1:06.8

I would.

...

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