Thinking about UBI I've had a thought. A very brief and not well thought out thought, but I thought I'd share anyway.
How about different tiers of UBI with different expectations and different incomes.
So let's say there's a basic UBI which is enough to live on but at a pretty basic level. But it's a good safety net so people are not destitute and can feed and clothe themselves. Homelessness through poverty factors would be eradicated. Education would be free so you can use the UBI opportunity to study and improve yourself, stress free.
Then there would be at least one other higher tier of UBI whereby you put yourself forward into a work pool. Ideally you can opt in for certain kinds of jobs and opt out of some you really dislike. So you can have retail jobs, call centre, basic office jobs, refuse collectors and so on. You opt in to work a set number of hours in one of these jobs and you get a higher rate of UBI. This could even be a fluid marketplace so jobs that are in demand for workers offer a higher pay to try and entice people to opt for it. This would be based on national need, not an arbitrary pay scale. If done right this could mean unsavoury jobs (like refuse collection) would actually get higher pay than jobs deemed easier or less physically or mentally taxing. This would help ensure there's not massive gaps in what the country needs at any given time. Make fruit picking higher paid and watch people actually flock to it and so crops aren't being wasted, for instance.
Maybe this concept could be extended further, I dunno.
Frankly I don't understand how the economics of it could work and it's probably not feasible but at some point UBI might be a necessity and I feel it could be done more intelligently so the nation is served well from it as much as the people are as well. A much more well oiled machine with a happier workforce deployed where they are best suited and always, always, with that safety net there.