A basic level of income is just cutting out the middleman. &quot;Make work&quot; jobs are just a moral fig leaf that governments put on top of basic income because an unconditional basic income inevitably causes an uproar. &quot;Why, I got a degree that interested me and am working a job I enjoy and making a lot of money, but that guy? He gets a trifling amount of money a year just to sit on his ass! Why, the indignity!&quot;<p>Most economists agree that directly handing money to people is completely effective economic policy. For cultural reasons, though, we have the fig leaf.