Question 21·Hard·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
Sociologist Lena Ortiz argues that widespread adoption of a universal basic income (UBI) is hindered mainly by the belief that receiving unconditional cash will discourage work. She points to several regional pilot programs in which most participants not only maintained employment but also used part of the stipend to pay for vocational courses. Ortiz concludes that multi-year pilots covering whole provinces or states, and spanning diverse economic conditions, are needed to convince skeptics that UBI will not undermine labor participation.
Text 2
Economist Bram Deshpande summarizes a meta-analysis of existing UBI experiments: while average hours worked decline only slightly, the programs consistently stimulate modest increases in small-business formation. Deshpande cautions, however, that every program so far has been externally funded. He contends that a national-level UBI would have to be financed through higher taxes, and those taxes could themselves alter people’s willingness to work or start businesses. Therefore, he warns, results from subsidy-funded pilots may not reliably forecast the outcomes of a tax-funded nationwide policy.
Based on the texts, how would Deshpande (Text 2) most likely qualify Ortiz’s (Text 1) proposal for larger UBI pilots?
For cross-text connection questions, quickly summarize each author’s main point and their key concern in your own words, then ask how one author would respond to or modify the other’s idea. Pay close attention to the final sentences, which often state proposals or caveats. When evaluating answer choices, eliminate any that introduce ideas or attitudes not supported by the text (new critiques, new goals, different focuses) and select the one that directly reflects the second author’s stated concern while still relating clearly to the first author’s proposal.
Hints
Focus on future actions in each text
Re-read the last sentence of each text. What does Ortiz say should happen in the future? What does Deshpande worry about when he thinks about a national UBI?
Think about “qualify”
To qualify someone’s proposal usually means to accept the basic idea but add conditions or limitations. What limitation does Deshpande place on how we should interpret existing pilot results?
Use Deshpande’s key concern as a filter
Deshpande’s main issue is not whether to have pilots, but whether they truly reflect a national policy that must be paid for in a specific way. Which option adds a condition to Ortiz’s idea that directly addresses this concern?
Eliminate options that add new, unsupported claims
Cross out any answer that has Deshpande rejecting all further research, asking for smaller pilots, or criticizing vocational training—none of those points appear in Text 2.
Step-by-step Explanation
Clarify Ortiz’s proposal in Text 1
Ortiz argues that people fear UBI will reduce work, but she cites pilots where most people kept working and even used UBI for vocational courses. Based on this, she proposes bigger, multi-year pilots that cover whole provinces or states and different economic conditions to convince skeptics that UBI does not undermine labor participation.
Clarify Deshpande’s concern in Text 2
Deshpande says that meta-analyses show only a slight drop in hours worked and more small-business formation, so the immediate pilot results are not very negative. However, he adds an important warning: every UBI program studied so far is externally funded. A real national-level UBI would need higher taxes, and those taxes could change people’s willingness to work or start businesses. Therefore, he doubts whether results from subsidy-funded pilots can predict what would happen with a tax-funded nationwide policy.
Understand what it means to “qualify” Ortiz’s proposal
To qualify a proposal usually means to add a condition or limitation, not to completely reject it. So the question is asking: if Deshpande responded to Ortiz, how would he modify or condition her idea of larger pilots, based on his own concern that current pilots don’t reflect real tax conditions?
Match Deshpande’s concern to the answer options
Check each choice against Deshpande’s position:
- He does not say more studies are unnecessary; in fact, he questions their current design.
- He does not call for smaller, more targeted pilots; his worry is about how the pilots are financed, not about their size.
- He does not criticize people using stipends for training; that detail comes only from Ortiz, and Deshpande never objects to it.
The only option that fits his specific warning is the one that says he would insist any expanded pilot build in the same tax mechanisms that would fund a national UBI, so that labor-market effects are measured under realistic fiscal conditions. That is why the correct answer is: “By insisting that any expanded pilot include the specific tax mechanisms that would fund a nationwide UBI, so that labor-market effects are measured under realistic fiscal conditions.”