The call to action is not just for academic economists—it is for all of us who want a better, saner, more humane world. Economics is too important to be left to economists.

goal of social policy, in these times of change and anxiety, is to help people absorb the shocks that affect them without allowing those shocks to affect their sense of themselves.

Time and again, we have seen in our travels in developing countries that hope is the fuel that makes people go. Defining people by their problems is turning circumstance into essence. It denies hope. A natural response is then to wrap oneself into this identity, with treacherous consequences for society at large.

Putting these families squarely on track toward productive work required more than money. It required treating them as human beings with a respect they were not used to, recognizing both their potential and the damage done to them by years of deprivation.

Young retirees living off UBI find new meaning in their lives, working at home, volunteering in their communities, taking up crafts, or exploring the world. Unfortunately, evidence suggests that it is actually difficult for people to find meaning outside the structure of their work.

the evidence scattered through this book suggests most people actually want to work, not just because they need the money; work brings with it a sense of purpose, belonging, and dignity.

Perhaps a guaranteed income would make the poor willing to go somewhere else to look for a better job, to learn a new skill, or to start a new business.

There is also no evidence that cash transfers lead to greater spending on tobacco and alcohol.26 And cash transfers generally increase food expenditures as much as food rations.27

One simple reason is money. Universal programs in which no one is excluded are expensive. The proposal to pay $1,000 a month for every American would cost $3.9 trillion a year. That’s about $1.3 trillion more than all existing welfare programs, roughly the equivalent of the entire federal budget, or 20 percent of the US economy.