From the perspective that the rich have absolutely designed the government and the tax laws to their own advantage, universal basic income is appealing as an instrument to help balance the scales that have been tipped so far in the wealthy classes' favor to the detriment of other classes. From the perspective that automation is continuing to destroy jobs and more and more industries will be disrupted by it, and full employment is becoming less and less likely in the future, universal basic income is even more appealing. We've seen what happens to countries that have a high degree of permanent unemployment in younger demographics, and they become incredibly violent without much, if any, exception. A program like UBI could alleviate the need for the social security program and all other welfare programs. It would likely make our social programs more efficient while also expanding the economy as it would provide people the economic freedom to create new things. However, the numbers being proposed seem too low at $500 per month to do properly. Finland started a universal basic income experiment in 2017, but sadly I think it has already been abandoned.