Would Universal Basic Income(UBI) work?

    Recently, there has been a pretty good amount of debate on the concept of Universal Basic Income i.e. giving certain amount of money unconditionally to everybody just for being a citizen. This concept has come into light after seeing the possibility of automation pushing humans away from the labor. The supporters argue that it is necessary as people would be jobless and and would have no source of income. However, the opposing side argues that this would cause inflation(a decrease in value of money) and hence would make no difference. And in short, both have very good points; its just that the opposing sides have thought a bit through the issue.

Should government help people?

Yes, absolutely. But will it help? Cannot be sure.

How would UBI mean decrease in the value of money?

If something costs a price, we value them according to the price we pay for it.  But, we don't value things that we get for free. So, why should we value UBI?

And also, the fact that the government(or whoever distributes) is able to distribute money unconditionally means that it is very very rich compared to the general people. This also means that the general people are completely irrelevant to the economic cycle. So, there is almost no compulsion for distributing money, its like giving something for nothing. Because of this lack of compulsion, the government is likely to act very insincerely. Insincerity is often the cause of inflation.

Worst Case Scenario: 

Even revolutionary movements may not work. If we look at any kinds of movements from the past it is clear that all of them did have their own demands and if those demands were not fulfilled, they posed a certain threat. However, in the future movements against those who own Artificially Intelligent machines, it is questionable if the general people will be able to pose that threat. Apart from being irrelevant to the economy, they are also powerless. And, the people may have to live solely on the mercy of those who own the AI.