Should there be a basic income?

That's just it - how is the question of who is 'poor' and who is 'non-poor' to be decided? And by whom? Where is that line to be drawn? Isn't a person trapped by financial dependence in a marriage with a violent, or even just a boring, partner 'poor', no matter how wealthy he or she might be? Isn't anyone who does a job that is demeaning, dull, socially useless, or physically damaging, in some essential way 'poor', no matter how high their actual wage? You ask if I would prefer not to work any more but rather receive an allowance. What I meant was that my job should not have to exist. While I have no doubt that at the moment I'm doing socially necessary work, I'd be far happier if the social-security system didn't have to be 'negotiated' with other people's help, and if I had more time to do - and think about - other things. Whether that would be 'work' in your eyes or not, I don't know.