Turn – Training - A UBI doesn’t undermine employment, it helps workers find and become qualified for better jobs.
Bidadanure, 2019 - prof of Philosophy, Stanford University [Juliana Uhuru, Mar 5, Annual Review of Political Science “The Political Theory of Universal Basic Income” https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-070954 Acc 2/16/23 TA]
If the goal is to promote flourishing lives, it is important to recognize that UBI could improve work opportunities inside and outside the labor market. UBI, it has been argued, can contribute to improving working conditions both by helping precarious workers cope financially and by increasing their bargaining power (Standing 2013). It can also enable forms of work outside the labor market that might be both more beneficial to individuals and their communities and more virtuous than many formal job opportunities—for instance, activism, volunteering, and caring for others. In a sense, UBI can be seen as a form of compensation, and perhaps even encouragement, for all those who work without an income (Offe 1992). As Barry (2000) eloquently puts it, this is a knockdown argument for UBI at subsistence level, for “there is surely something crazy about the stipulation that those drawing unemployment benefit must be ‘available for work’ at any moment, which rules out their using the time to improve their qualifications, engage in community work, or help a neighbor while earning a bit extra.” UBI thus does not need to be seen as anti-work; it could potentially help workers secure more fulfilling and productive occupations, or demand better work conditions.