Maybe change the title cause I thought this was going to be an opinion piece but it&#x27;s actually just a thorough summary of history of basic income.<p>Two things I don&#x27;t necessarily agree with:<p>1. You can get rid of the &quot;welfare cliffs&quot; without basic income. Just get rid of means testing. In Europe there are various welfare services that are not means tested. I believe various European countries have child allowances for everyone.<p>2. It is not at all clear to me that it will be cheaper and more cost effective to replace any given welfare service with a direct cash payment to the recipients. The government can negotiate prices from a much better position than single individuals can. Just look at how much cheaper drugs are in places where the government forces a monopsony.