Opinion : Would you like up to £100 given to you every week for free?

Over the years High Wycombe has endured many trials, experiments and schemes.

In my opinion hardly any of them, if any, have been of any benefit to the town or its people.

Take for example the Masterplan that changed the road layout in the town centre recently. Or the Special Parking Area which affected the way motorists can park beside the road. Or the introduction of charges to dispose of certain types of waste at the Household Recycling Centres. Does anyone think these schemes have been beneficial to the town or its people?

However last weekend my good self happened to come across an article on a national news site headlined ‘Hull asks to be first UK city to trial universal basic income‘.

It seems that ‘Universal Basic Income’ (UBI) is proposal where every adult, regardless of their income, would be paid a weekly basic sum which could be in the region of £50 to £100. However in return welfare payments would be done away with.

The scheme has been trialled Finland, the United States and Kenya with varying success. However the idea of UBI is becoming popular in a number of UK cities, particularly in the North of England.

Rather than ruining the roads with daft Masterplans, introducing Special Parking Areas or making us pay to dispose of waste why can’t Wycombe take part in any planned ‘universal basic income’ trial? Indeed my good self would readily accept up to £100 per week for free from the Government.

In Finland people who received the UBI payments as part of the trial were also found to happier. Finding up to £100 a week arrive in my bank account would certainly make my good self happier too.

For those on a paltry income who are finding it hard to make ends meet £100 is a lifeline, indeed it’s a life changing difference.

Why should the people of the city of Hull be the only ones to take part in a trial of UBI? Surely a town like High Wycombe should take part in any proposed trial too?

Just think what a boost it would be to Wycombe’s economy if everyone had an extra £100 to spend every week. If the money was spent in the town centre shops maybe new businesses would start up helping to bring some of the disused retail units back into use?

If a UBI trial does take place in the UK and the selected towns and cities are decided upon by the level of deprivation they have then surely Wycombe would be near the top of the list? After all Wycombe was recently selected to benefit from the ‘Future High Streets Fund‘.

If the Government inspectors want to find a town with real problems then surely Wycombe has a trump card with Frogmoor and the dreadful crimes (including acid murders) that have taken place there not to mention the notorious Desborough Road area and its supposed rampant prostitution problems.

So why aren’t the great and good who oversee the running of High Wycombe writing to the Government asking for a UBI trial here like the leaders of Hull are doing?

Yours truly would certainly be very happy to receive up to an extra £100 every week for free. Would you like some free money too?

What do you think?

My blogs are published regularly here on the WycombeToday.com website.

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