Sometimes bad policy in good times is good policy in bad times.

A Universal Basic Income (UBI) is one such policy. The idea of providing every individual (Universal) a low and unconditional common (Basic) level of cash (Income) is an idea that has roots on both the left and right of the political spectrum. Those on the left have typically been attracted to alleviating poverty for everyone — universality. Those on the right have typically been attracted to the efficiency of a single program for the poor to replace the myriad of programs that exist today — unconditionality.