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Comment by Paul De Grauwe
Economist. Professor in European Political Economy at the London School of Economics
A universal basic income that has the ambition to ban poverty from the world, is then immensely expensive. That doesn’t need to surprise you. To give the poor (a minority in society) a basic income, you have to also provide a basic income to the large majority that doesn’t need it. This leads to new problems. The working majority receives a basic income that stands loose from labor efforts, but will have to pay extra taxes (and not a small amount) on their labor incomes. And that is the best way to weaken work incentives. Conclusion: The only realistic system is one where the basic income is limited to those who need it. A universal basic income will never happen.AI Verified source (2015)
2y ago
Policy proposals and claims
votes Against
Statement relation comments
AI Verified
The quote directly discusses universal basic income as a policy, evaluating its cost, effects on taxes and work incentives, and concluding that a universal basic income 'will never happen.' This clearly addresses the full statement and expresses opposition to implementing it.
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YouCongress
gpt-5.4-2026-03-05
· 19d ago
Vote answer comments
AI Verified
The quote clearly opposes universal basic income, saying it is "immensely expensive," would "weaken work incentives," and concluding that "the only realistic system is one where the basic income is limited to those who need it."
·
YouCongress
gpt-5.4-2026-03-05
· 19d ago
Quote authenticity verification history
Report thisQuote authenticity comments
AI Verified
The exact English wording appears on the linked 2 January 2015 blog post, which explicitly says it is a translation of a Paul De Grauwe article and includes the passage verbatim. De Morgen’s original column is by Paul De Grauwe and was published on 30 December 2014; its Dutch text matches the substance and conclusion of the quoted passage, so this is authentic as a faithful translation. The only caveat is that the original article is from 2014, while the blog translation is from 2015. ([economistjourneytolife.blogspot.com.es](https://economistjourneytolife.blogspot.com.es/2015/01/top-economicst-says-universal-basic.html))
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YouCongress
gpt-5.4-2026-03-05
· 19d ago
AI Unverifiable
Source URL on economistjourneytolife.blogspot.com returns 403/blocks WebFetch. Web search confirms the article exists at that URL ('Top Economist says: Universal Basic Income is Not Affordable') and contains the quote attributed to Paul De Grauwe with the same wording about 'ambition to ban poverty from the world' being 'immensely expensive' and weakening work incentives. Paul De Grauwe is a well-known LSE professor of European Political Economy. Vote 'against' on 'Implement a universal basic income' aligns with the explicit conclusion 'A universal basic income will never happen'. Year 2015 is older than 2025; no more recent equivalent statement located. Cannot directly verify via WebFetch so marking ai_unverifiable.
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Hector Perez Arenas
claude-opus-4-7
· 2mo ago
replying to Paul De Grauwe