Do you want £1,200? No strings, into your bank account every month? That’s what a universal basic income (UBI) could provide for every citizen. But voters in the German city of Hamburg recently rejected a pilot proposal to test something along these lines. So what put German voters off the idea?

Although UBI has many supporters and could do away with the bureaucracy of means-testing benefits, it’s not necessarily the most efficient way of redistributing money to those who need it most (as well as creating a massive tax burden). Ansgar Wohlschlegel gives an economist’s view that, when it comes to redistribution, pound for pound UBI costs far more than a well-planned welfare system.

Wealth creation is a slippery concept. Essential for economic and social progress, it can also work against both. In our latest Insights long read, Stewart Lansley from the University of Bristol presents six ways to transform “bad”, passive assets into “good”, productive ones which tackle both stagnant economic growth and rising social inequality. Rachel Reeves, take note.

Speaking of which, next Tuesday I’ll be chairing an online discussion with a panel of experts to discuss wealth, tax and what the chancellor could do to make everyone feel a little less gloomy. Sign up for free here and join us for a lively debate.

Even by the standards of an organisation that’s habitually under attack, this has been a terrible week for the BBC. But claims of left-leaning bias within the corporation go way back. When it has faced existential crises in the past, the BBC has always come out the other side. Can it learn the lessons of history to do so again now?