by Tyler Prochazka | Dec 17, 2015 | News
As interest in Europe grows toward the idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI), it is even finding support in the United Kingdom’s Green Party. Jim Edwards in an article in the Business Insider analyzes how much a UBI would cost the UK.
If current welfare spending of £251 billion was split among all residents equally, each person would receive £324 per month. Only counting adults, the basic income rises to £423 per month.
Edwards notes that a UBI may force some UK employers to increase wages for “unpleasant but necessary tasks,” as laborers would now have more freedom to refuse certain jobs.
Jim Edwards, “Here’s how much we’d all get if the UK dumped its welfare state and introduced a universal basic income scheme instead”, Business Insider, December 13, 2015.
by Nicole Teke | Dec 13, 2015 | Opinion
In the past few months, basic income has been widely debated in the French public arena and mainstream media are starting to pay attention to it. This trend has been influenced by the announcement of pilot projects in the Netherlands and Finland, and the upcoming referendum in Switzerland.
Recently, there have been important developments in the national political arena too. On November 13, an amendment to the 2016 Budget Law proposing the adoption of a basic income was debated in the National Assembly, one of the two houses of Parliament. The proposal was introduced by Frédéric Lefebvre, MP from the right-wing party Les Républicains. The amendment was not approved, but the chairman of the Finance Commission, Gilles Carrez, approved the creation of a multi-party parliamentary working group on the issue.
This constitutes a real improvement in terms of political discussions on this topic. However, BIEN French chapter, the French Movement for Basic Income (FMBI), has expressed concern about the proposed measure. The amendment promotes the introduction of a universal income for all French citizens – but not other residents – that would replace all welfare benefits. All unemployment and housing benefits, as well as student allowances and old-age pensions, would subsequently be suppressed. (You can read the amendment in French here.)
Most people who depend on their social benefits would be strongly affected. The amendment seems to have been designed to reduce public debt, without taking into consideration the negative impact it could have on the welfare system. The proposed basic income does not sit well with FMBI’s stance. A basic income should not undermine the welfare system, but reinforce it. It should also promote more freedom of choice.
The amendment mentions recent developments in Finland. In the Finnish case too, there are concerns that the government might be experimenting with a basic income to replace other social benefits and reduce public spending. As far as the French proposal goes, it does not consider the implications for citizens and residents, especially those in the most vulnerable groups. It also fails to look at how the proposed basic income would enhance individual freedom of choice.
This is just the beginning of a serious political discussion. There is still a lot of work to do to develop proposals about the kind of basic income France should adopt. Yet, the fact that there is growing debate in all spheres of French society is a positive and welcome development.
by Will Wachtmeister | Nov 23, 2015 | News
National charity Food Banks Canada has put basic income policy top of the list of recommendations in its recently published annual report.
From: https://www.foodbankscanada.ca/getmedia/01e662ba-f1d7-419d-b40c-bcc71a9f943c/HungerCount2015_singles.pdf.aspx
“It has been clear for many years that welfare is a broken system,” the HungerCount 2015 report says. “Benefit levels are unreasonably low, the administrative bureaucracy is extremely difficult to navigate, and stigmatization of those in need is widespread. The system seems beyond repair.”
Just over 850,000 Canadians turn to food banks each month – over a quarter more than before the global financial crisis – and over one-third of current users are children.
Levels of social security support are “plainly inadequate” in a situation where around 70% of households with social assistance are food insecure, Food Banks Canada says citing an earlier study by international research group PROOF.
HungerCount reports have consistently warned that the food bank network is an unofficial safety net that fills the gaps in Canadian provinces’ social assistance programs. Basic income as a policy solution has featured less prominently or not at all in earlier HungerCount reports.
Roderick Benns, “Food Banks Canada calls for basic income policy.” Leaders and Legacies, 17 November 2015
Food Banks Canada,”HungerCount 2015: comprehensive report on hunger and food bank use in Canada and recommendations for change.” www.foodbankscanada.ca, 3 November 2015
Tarasuk, V, Mitchell, A, Dachner, N. (2014). Household food insecurity in Canada 2012. PROOF, 6 February 2014
by Toru Yamamori | Nov 16, 2015 | Research
by BIEN | Nov 14, 2015 | News
The word unemployed changed to employed on torn paper
Kevin Boyd, an associate policy analyst at the R Street Institute, authored a post directly comparing the negative income tax, a variation of the basic income guarantee, to traditional welfare and the minimum wage. Boyd contends that a negative income tax would avoid the potential for job loss and price hikes caused by the minimum wage while avoiding the pitfalls of the current welfare bureaucracy. Boyd advocates for an income threshold set at 130% of the poverty line, which would amount to a guaranteed minimum income of $30,711.20. W-9 forms would be collected monthly and payments would be calculated each month based on the previous month’s income. Paired with the abolition of the minimum wage, Boyd believes that unemployment can be greatly reduced without an increase in poverty thanks to the negative income tax.
For the entirety of Boyd’s post, see
Kevin Boyd, “A negative income tax beats both the minimum wage and welfare” R Street Institute, September 12, 2014
As interest in Europe grows toward the idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI), it is even finding support in the United Kingdom’s Green Party. Jim Edwards in an article in the Business Insider analyzes how much a UBI would cost the UK.
