A Brexiteer tried to claim universal basic income led to the fall of the Roman Empire and it massively backfired

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THE INDEPENDENT 3/27/2020

The government is facing increased pressure to introduce a universal basic income for those in the UK facing financial uncertainties as the coronavirus crisis continues to spread, forcing many out of work.

This has so far been rejected as the chancellor has argued that they have already introduced enough measures to help those, including the self-employed, who may have found themselves compromised but a basic income may help people through the pandemic.

This issue is likely to rumble on for however long this period will last and it is bound to divide politicians across the board. One politician who is not too keen on introducing universal basic income is former Tory and Ukip MP Douglas Carswell, who came up with a very strange reason against its introduction.

In a tweet posted on Thursday afternoon, the Brexiteer claimed that the Romans tried to introduce a form of universal basic income in 123BC and it effectively caused the collapse of the empire.

Unfortunately for Carswell, his take was potentially a bit disputable and was basically torn to shreds by Classics scholar Mary Beard, who corrected the mistake.

Soon, Carswell's tweet found itself attracting a lot of interest and judging by the consensus, he hadn't got this correct in the slightest.

There were also plenty of jokes.

Still, it looks like Carswell has taken it well and took the opportunity to promote his history book on trade and economics.

Disputing the economics of the Roman Empire in the midst of a pandemic is the last thing that we expected to be writing about but here we are.

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