This article is very important in the discussion about a citizen’s income (basic income) in the UK. Hirsch is writing from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a prestigious social policy organization in the UK, and his analysis of the citizen’s income debate revolves around a few main issues: it would require increased taxes of up to fifty percent, it does not necessarily eliminate all means-tests since Housing Benefit would likely still exist, and the “something for nothing” idea is still politically unpopular throughout the UK. That said, Hirsch highlights the attractiveness of a citizen’s income as well as listing its faults.
Donald Hirsch, “Could a ‘Citizen’s Income’ Work?”, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, March 2015.
