Citizen’s income is an idea whose time has come | Letters

I applaud John O’Farrell’s article (A no-string basic income?, 7 January). The logic is a “no brainer”. A basic reason for money is to ensure the flow of goods from factory to consumer. Cut off the money supply and the system fails. This government’s policy of cutbacks and austerity does just that and tragically ensures a slide into increased levels of poverty, inequality and deprivation. A universal basic income would begin to reverse this trend and lead ultimately to a fairer future, where, it is recognised, the need for labour will continue to shrink and be increasingly replaced by automation.

We should be looking to a future where the economic benefits deriving from science and engineering will be shared by all, not a privileged few. Utopia or Dystopia? The choice is ours.
Alan Hutchison
Freuchie, Fife

Related: A no-strings basic income? If it works for the royal family, it can work for us all | John O’Farrell

The obscene income disparities seen in finance, big business (and football) should have no place in a civilised society