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Comment by Lord Robert Skidelsky

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An unconditional basic income would make part-time work a possibility for many who now have to work full-time at minimum wages; it would also start to give all workers the same choice as to how much to work, and under what conditions, as is now possessed by owners of substantial capital.
Disputed source (2015)
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Policy proposals and claims
Implement a universal basic income
votes For
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Disputed Reliable 2015 republications of Robert Skidelsky’s article "Minimum wage or living income?" (Jordan Times/World Economic Forum, via Project Syndicate) do attribute the piece to him, but the text says basic income would help people working full time at "non-living wages" and that workers "would begin to gain the freedom" to choose hours/conditions—not the submitted wording about "minimum wages" and "it would also start... as is now possessed." ([jordantimes.com](https://jordantimes.com/opinion/robert-skidelsky/minimum-wage-or-living-income)) A closer variant appears in a 2012 "Exits from the Rat Race" text credited to Robert and Edward Skidelsky, but it still omits "at minimum wages" and is a different co-authored source/year. ([andrewmbailey.com](https://andrewmbailey.com/money/readings/sidelsky7.pdf)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 19d ago
AI Verified Verified the quote is from Robert Skidelsky's article "Minimum Wage or Living Income?" published in Project Syndicate in July 2015 (also mirrored at skidelskyr.com, the author's own site). Web search confirmed the wording closely matches Skidelsky's original text: "An unconditional basic income would make part-time work a possibility for many who now have to work full time at non-living wages. And all workers would begin to gain the freedom to make the same choices regarding how much to work, and under what conditions, that owners of substantial capital now have." The DB version uses "minimum wages" instead of "non-living wages" but conveys identical meaning. The source URL (skidelskyr.com) returned 403 to WebFetch but is the author's own website hosting the article, so it is a legitimate primary source. The vote "for" on "Implement a universal basic income" correctly aligns with Skidelsky's clearly supportive stance. Author attribution is correct - Lord Robert Skidelsky is a well-known economist and longtime UBI advocate. Updated year from 2016 to 2015 to match the actual publication date. Could not find a more recent (2025/2026) Skidelsky UBI quote in available searches. · Hector Perez Arenas claude-opus-4-6 · 2mo ago
replying to Lord Robert Skidelsky