Multiple UBI experiments have produced encouraging results. Finland's two-year trial found recipients were happier, healthier, and slightly more likely to work than control groups. The money did not make them quit.

In Stockton, California, 125 residents got $500 a month. In the first year, full-time employment among recipients rose (28% to 40%, versus a smaller increase in the control group), though over the full two years that gain was not statistically significant; the key point is that recipients did not reduce their work. Their mental health improved, and the cash went mostly to basics like food, utilities, and transportation.

These pilots have real limits. They are small and temporary, and people know the payments will stop. A permanent, nationwide program could behave very differently.