What UBI Actually Means

Universal Basic Income — or UBI — is a simple idea with a surprisingly deep impact: every adult receives a regular monthly income. It isn’t a salary, it isn’t welfare, and it isn’t a reward for work. It’s a stable floor beneath everyone’s feet — a baseline of security in a world that rarely offers any. In the rest of this article, universal basic income will be referred to as UBI, so we can stay clear, consistent, and focused as we explore what this idea could mean for a modern society.

There’s something beautiful about ideas that are too big for politics but perfect for imagination. UBI is one of those ideas — not a campaign, not a promise, just a thought experiment. A mental playground. A “what if” for grown‑ups. What if a society didn’t run on fear? What if stability wasn’t a luxury? What if people could breathe before they break? This isn’t a revolution. It’s a sketch. A napkin drawing of a future that might work better than the present.

And because big countries move like cargo ships, we’ll use Slovenia as our test tube — a small, advanced, culturally balanced country that could, in theory, try something bold without collapsing under its own weight. Think of Slovenia as the EU’s laboratory baby: a place where the Union could watch, learn, and maybe one day scale the idea across the continent.

UBI Creates Freedom, Not Laziness

UBI removes the background noise of modern life — the constant fear: fear of losing your job, fear of getting sick, fear of not making rent, fear of falling behind. When fear goes down, purpose goes up.

People don’t suddenly become lazy.

Humans hate feeling useless. They want to contribute, create, help, build, belong. UBI doesn’t kill work. UBI kills panic.

UBI Only Works If Life Stays Affordable

UBI is pointless if prices explode. Without guardrails, UBI becomes a gift to landlords and supermarkets. A functional UBI system needs: stable housing, protected essential food prices, fair utilities, anti‑speculation rules, transparent competition. UBI is not meant to inflate the economy. It’s meant to stabilize it.

Who Gets What — And Who Pays What

Here’s the simple model:

– 1,000 € Minimum Wage for every adult still payed by the Employer
– + 500 € UBI bonus for people working in regular jobs
– + 1,200 € UBI for freelancers (SP)
– + pension top‑ups for retirees

And the four groups look like this:

-Employees: 1,000 € minimum wage paid by the employer, plus 500 € UBI bonus
-Freelancers (SP): 1,200 € UBI, because they already contribute through taxes
-Non‑working adults / creators: 1,000 € UBI
-Retirees: 1,000 € UBI + earned pension

Simple. Fair. Transparent.

A Note on People Who Cannot Work

Every society has people who simply cannot function in a classic job – disabled, chronically ill, psychologically fragile, traumatized, cognitively limited, bedridden, long‑term care cases… For them: They receive the full 1,000 € UBI with NO obligations. If they want to contribute — great. If they cannot — also great. They are not punished. They are not downgraded. They are not forced into “creativity”. This is the ethical core of the system.

What Happens When Someone Loses Their Job — And How Non‑Workers Are Treated

If a person loses their job, they immediately receive 1,000 € UBI and get a 12‑month grace period with no obligations. After that year, they can return to work, become freelancers, or join the creative contribution group, where they contribute through art, care, community work, volunteering, or any meaningful activity. People who cannot work — due to disability, illness, or severe limitations — remain under the 1,000 € UBI umbrella permanently, with no obligations. If they choose to contribute, great. If they cannot, it is fully respected.

People who can contribute but simply refuse or cannot reintegrate despite being capable receive a 500 € survival UBI until they reach pension age. This group is extremely small and already exists today; UBI simply treats them transparently and humanely.

How Many People Are in Each Group?

Slovenia has about 1.7 million adults:

-680,000 employees
-170,000 freelancers
-425,000 retirees
-425,000 non‑working adults / creators / caregivers

Enough for a realistic model.

The Real Cost of UBI

-Employees: 680,000 × 500 € = 340 million € / month
-Freelancers: 170,000 × 1,200 € = 204 million € / month
-Non‑working adults: 425,000 × 1,000 € = 425 million € / month
-Retirees: 425,000 × 1,000 € = 425 million € / month

Total per month:
1.394 billion €

Total per year:
≈ 16.7 billion €

That’s the real number.

How Much Slovenia Already Spends Today

Slovenia already spends:

-pensions: ~6 billion €
-social transfers: ~1.5 billion €
-unemployment benefits: ~0.5 billion €
-ZRSZ: ~0.15 billion €
-disability benefits: ~1 billion €
-bureaucracy, programs, subsidies: ~1 billion €

Total: ~6–7 billion €… UBI replaces most of this.

How Much Is Still Missing?

16.7 billion € minus 6.5 billion € (existing spending) ≈ 10 billion €

This is the amount the system must generate. But this does NOT come only from taxes.

What Covers the Remaining 10 Billion?

-taxes from workers: 3–4 billion €
-taxes from freelancers: 1 billion €
-taxes from creators: 0.5 billion €
-higher corporate tax revenue: 1 billion €
-automation & AI tax: 2 billion €

Total: ~7.5–8.5 billion €

The Real Missing Amount: ~2 Billion €… This is the actual net cost of UBI.

And for a country the size of Slovenia, 2 billion € is not a wall — it’s a bump.

Where Can Slovenia Find the Missing 2 Billion?

-reduced bureaucracy: 300–500 million €
-reduced subsidies & redundant programs: 300–600 million €
-automation & AI tax: 500–800 million €
-closing tax loopholes: 300–500 million €
-higher capital gains tax: 200–300 million €
-environmental & CO₂ taxes: 200–300 million €

Total: ~2.3 billion €… More than enough.

Why Companies Paying 1,000 € Is Fair

Because they already pay it today, they stop paying pension contributions, they get a more stable workforce, they get motivated workers (500 € bonus), they face less burnout, less turnover, fewer sick days. This isn’t unfair. This is balanced capitalism.

Why People Won’t Stop Working

Most people can’t sit at home all day. They don’t have a garden. They don’t have a workshop. They don’t have a project. Even some lottery winners say: “I’d still work. What would I do all day?” UBI doesn’t change human nature. People will work because they need meaning.

The Creative Obligation

Those who don’t work can still contribute through art, repairs, gardening, writing, music, volunteering, community support. When they sell something, they pay taxes. The system feeds itself.

Freelancers Fit Perfectly Into UBI

Freelancers are already active, productive, tax‑paying, innovative. UBI gives them stability, safety, freedom to choose clients, freedom to grow. That’s why they receive 1,200 €.

Keeping Money in Slovenia

Most people spend most of their income locally: food, rent, utilities, fuel, services, VAT. UBI stabilizes this. If needed, Slovenia can require that a portion of UBI be spent domestically. But in reality, people already do this.

AI: The Catalyst That Makes UBI Necessary

AI will replace 30–40% of jobs. Not overnight, but steadily. AI creates wealth — but not evenly. UBI is the new social contract: Machines handle routine, humans handle purpose.

Can Slovenia Build This System? Yes — With a Dedicated Team

UBI is not utopia. It’s an engineering project. Slovenia needs economists, sociologists, technologists, tax experts, digitalization teams, behavioral psychologists. In 12–18 months, Slovenia could build one of the most elegant UBI systems in Europe. Small countries move fast.

 The Dream That Makes Room for Reality

This whole article is just a thought experiment — a playful sketch of a future that might one day give us more freedom. Great things never begin with permission. They begin with curiosity. With imagination. With the courage to ask “what if”. UBI may never happen exactly like this. Or maybe it will. But every big shift in history started as a crazy idea someone dared to explore. And sometimes, that’s all a society needs — a dream big enough to make reality move.