SPEAKER: Perce Harpham
DATE: Friday, 31 January
VENUE: Rutherford House, Lecture Theatre 3, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Victoria University of Wellington
TIME: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
ORGANIZER’S SUMMARY: Universal Basic Income (UBI) is an idea whose time may have come. Although the idea of a UBI was first mooted around 1800, the financing of it appears always to have been considered separately. In this IGPS seminar, Perce Harpham will discuss the beginning of a solution by considering both a Universal Basic Income and an Asset Tax to finance it. By choice of appropriate levels of the variables Perce will argue that both tax and benefit systems can be simplified and inequality reduced. In so doing, he will draw on recent examples of innovation in this field: most notably the forthcoming vote in Switzerland, and the advocacy campaign by a Conservative Canadian Senator.
Perce Harpham
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Perce Harpham was born in Tauranga Perce graduated as a Chemical Engineer from Canterbury University and worked for Dulux paints for 14 years. Being seconded to ICI in England in 1957 and then to the head office in Australia before returning to New Zealand (NZ) and progressing through Production Manager to being in charge of setting up and managing Dulux’s computer, the fourth in NZ. When Britain joined the Common Market he set up the first software company in NZ. It prospered, for 21 years with offices throughout NZ and Australia as well as Chicago, Los Angeles and Beijing. Perce has a long history of proposing solutions to NZ’s problems with slight success. He stood for the Green Party in Hutt South in 2002 but has since joined the Labour Party.
For more information go to: https://igps.victoria.ac.nz/events/Upcoming%20events/index.html#31jan
