Why wait until the robots take our jobs? We need UBI now

From the article: AI and tech developments are already pushing people into more precarious work, but UBI could cushion the transition.

In recent years, one of the most popular arguments for universal basic income (UBI) – a regular cash payment delivered to every individual with no work requirement or means test – has been the fear that automation and artificial intelligence (AI) will someday take our jobs. This, it’s argued, will cause massive unemployment and make UBI a virtual necessity – so we better get cracking.
This argument is often portrayed as the automation argument for UBI, but I don’t think it’s the best way to talk about the relationship between automation and UBI. It’s too future-oriented. It’s about what might happen someday. Even if the argument is ultimately correct, not everyone is convinced the robot-employment apocalypse will happen any time soon. This future-oriented argument gives people permission to say, “OK, call me when someday comes; until then, let’s forget about UBI.”
I believe UBI is long overdue. The argument for it has to be based on the here-and-now, and automation does have an important part to play in that argument.

We don’t need to imagine a dystopian future to recognize UBI is a necessity here and now. It’s long overdue.