by Karl Widerquist | Aug 21, 2013 | Research
Libertarian populism in Reason Magazine
Libertarianism, in the United States, is a political ideology dedicated to the smallest possible government. Yet, there is a long history of at least some libertarians favoring basic income. In two articles in the libertarian magazine, Reason, Jesse Walker discusses basic income as a part of the libertarian agenda and the Alaska Dividend as an example of a working basic income. According to Walker, “The American safety net is a confusing maze of programs, many of which double as a way for paternalists to stick their snouts into poor people’s lives. It would be both simpler and less intrusive to replace the lot of them with a single negative income tax or basic income grant.”
Jesse Walker, “One State Already Has a Basic Income Plan,” Reason: Free Minds and Free Markets, Aug. 2, 2013 Jesse Walker, “How Far Will Libertarian Populists Go?” Reason: Free Minds and Free Markets, Aug. 1, 2013
by Yannick Vanderborght | Aug 5, 2013 | News
The president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, has announced the creation of a “Guaranteed Minimum Income” for all citizens. The president said, “Beneficiaries will be all of our fellow citizens who have an income below that which can assure them a dignified living, irrespective of age, class or professional situation.” According to Cyprus Mail, the policy will begin in June 2014. The exact level of the grant will be determined between now and then, but every citizen would be guaranteed “the minimum needs for a dignified living in a European Country.”
If the program goes into affect as described, it will be the world’s first full “Basic Income Guarantee” (BIG) as defined by the U.S. Basic income Guarantee Network: “government ensured guarantee that no one’s income will fall below the level necessary to meet their most basic needs for any reason.” However, the details of the program available so far indicate that it will be the negative income tax version (NIT) and not the basic income (BI) version of BIG. The difference is that NIT gets everyone to the minimum by paying only those whose incomes are below some minimum level, while BI gets everyone to the minimum, pay paying all citizens regardless of means. What will actually happen remains to be seen.
For more information, see “President announces ‘Guaranteed Minimum Income’ program,” Cypress Mail, July 26, 2013
President Nicos Anastasiades - Cypress Mail
by Karl Widerquist | Aug 4, 2013 | News
Malaysia’s new program called Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) that has some elements of the negative income tax (NIT) variant of the basic income guarantee. Receipt of benefits is not automatic, but those who are eligible need to apply by filling out a from. There has been little discussion of the connection between BR1M and NIT, but a recent commentary by Kang Beng Ho discusses BR1M in context of the NIT.
Kang Beng, Ho, “Is BR1M a negative income tax?” the Star Online [Malaysia], Monday May 20, 2013
People queing up to collect their BR1M vouchers. Under BR1M, an applicant would be required to file, not quite a tax return, but a simplified claim form to the tax authorities. -The Star Online
by Karl Widerquist | Aug 3, 2013 | Research
“One idea that warrants further investigation is a guaranteed annual income or negative income tax. This would replace our current welfare system and would ensure Canadians had a certain minimum income.…”
Paul Latimer, “An alternative to welfare may help Canadians,” Kelowna Capital News (British Columbia), May 23, 2013
by Karl Widerquist | Aug 1, 2013 | Research
In this opinion piece, Ed Broadbent, former leader of the New Democratic Party, argues that Canada should take a small step in the direction of a basic income or a negative income tax by increasing the federal Working Income Tax Benefit, which provides a very modest tax credit to Canadians who work but still have very low incomes.
Broadbent, Ed, “Begin by hiking tax credits for working poor,” the Chronicle Herald, June 28, 2013.
