Single correct option
Early proponents of universal basic income framed it primarily as a technological response to automation: as machines displaced routine labor, a guaranteed income would cushion workers against unemployment. More recent advocacy has shifted emphasis toward administrative efficiency, arguing that a single unconditional cash transfer could replace a tangle of means-tested welfare programs, reducing both bureaucratic overhead and the stigma associated with applying for targeted benefits. Critics from both left and right remain skeptical, though for different reasons — the left worried about UBI displacing more generous targeted support, the right about its cost and effect on work incentives.
Which of the following best captures the central idea of the passage?
Which of the following best captures the central idea of the passage?
- A. Universal basic income is universally regarded as the best solution to unemployment caused by automation.
- B. The rationale for universal basic income has evolved from an automation-response argument to an administrative-efficiency argument, even as it faces skepticism from multiple political directions.
- C. The political left supports universal basic income while the political right opposes it entirely.
- D. Automation has made means-tested welfare programs obsolete.
Show answer and solution
Answer: (B) The rationale for universal basic income has evolved from an automation-response argument to an administrative-efficiency argument, even as it faces skepticism from multiple political directions.
The passage traces a shift in justification for UBI (automation response → administrative efficiency) and notes it faces criticism 'from both left and right... for different reasons.' Option B reflects this full arc. A overstates consensus that doesn't exist per the passage; C incorrectly simplifies the left/right positions as blanket support/opposition; D is not stated.
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