In this world where work remains an important social, psychological and economic anchor, there are better tools to help than giving every American a monthly check.

What this article points out, there is no reason to just give people money for doing nothing, give them money for performing a job. The government can pick up the slack and hire people that are unemployed and have them do things that better society as a whole. The author calls it subsidized wages, but it could just as easily just pay for the entire job altogether.

It goes on to point out that:

In this world, though, where work remains an important social, psychological and economic anchor, there are better tools to help than giving every American a monthly check.

I agree. I think the basic income concept was put there almost as something that people will instinctively feel is wrong, which will hurt the discussion about government picking up the slack and paying unemployed people to do things that actually benefit society as a whole. Everyone benefits when it comes to guaranteed employment.

Source: Why a Universal Basic Income Will Not Solve Poverty – NYTimes.com