As Ireland’s $1,500-a-month basic income pilot program for creatives nears its end in February, officials have to answer a simple question: Is it worth it?
With four months to go, they say the answer is yes.
Earlier this month, Ireland’s government announced its 2026 budget, which includes “a successor to the pilot Basic Income Scheme for the Arts to begin next year” among its expenditures.
Ireland is just one of many places experimenting with guaranteed basic income programs, which provide recurring, unrestricted payments to people in a certain demographic. These programs differ from a universal basic income, which would provide payments for an entire population.
And what is “usefulness”? Who gets to decide? Art is an essential cure for societal narrow-mindedness.
What is the point of living without art and culture? That sounds like being a worker bee, without any honey.
Usually these people mean “profit”. They can’t see how money alone will not enrich a person.