The UK has a welfare state that tries to ensure that people don't have to worry about freezing to death, starving or not being able to afford basic shelter. Th

The UK has a welfare state that tries to ensure that people don't have to worry about freezing to death, starving or not being able to afford basic shelter. The reasons for homelessness are complicated and often heavily influenced by drug/alcohol dependency and/or mental illness. Things like the Big Issue are an example of projects that tap into the industriousness of people that the GP mentioned. There may be some people for whom the existing welfare state is too difficult to interact with but UBI is easy enough, but we should not believe that UBI will help everyone. Indeed the sheer cost of UBI is likely to require removing the funding available for the most needy.