From the article: "Though it has enjoyed recognition among wonks and some political momentum in Europe, not a single American presidential candidate has expressed even passing interest in the idea."

I think this statement is very misleading. While he was President, Richard Nixon actually tried to pass a "negative income tax" proposal that was essentially a UBI plan, which was advocated by Milton Friedman. George McGovern also advocated a UBI plan. This is mentioned in this Atlantic op-ed that the NYT piece actually links to (but apparently the author only skimmed it?): http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2...ons-pushing-a-guaranteed-basic-income/375600/