Between Congress’s one-time stimulus payments and the most recent stimulus bill’s reform of the child tax credit, the federal government is already giving money to people on a regular basis. President Biden’s expanded child tax credit, in particular, is being touted as a small-scale win for universal basic income.

That should worry everyone, especially since policies such as the child tax credit offer neither universal benefits nor a reduction in welfare spending, both of which have been huge selling points, particularly for those on the Right.