Financing Basic Income

This Palgrave Pivot argues that basic income at a decent level is, in fact, affordable. The contributors approach the topic from the perspectives of three different countries—Canada, Switzerland, and Australia—to overcome objections that a universal program to keep all citizens above the poverty line would be too expensive to implement. They assess the complex array of revenue sources that can make universal basic income feasible, from the underestimated value of public program redundancies to new and so far unaccounted publicly owned assets.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of providing a basic income to everyone in Canada who needs it was already gaining broad support. Then, in response to a crisis that threatened to put millions out of work, the federal government implemented new measures which constituted Canada?s largest ever experiment with a basic income for almost everyone. In this new and revised edition, Evelyn L. Forget offers a clear-eyed look at how these emergency measures could be transformed into a program that ensures an adequate basic income for every Canadian. Forget details what we can learn from earlier basic income experiments in Canada and internationally. She weighs the options, investigates whether Canadians can afford a permanent basic income program and describes how it could best be implemented across the country. This accessible book offers everything a reader needs to decide if a basic income program is the right follow-up to the short-term government response to COVID-19.

"This book is ambitious, and definitely fills a gap that has existed for a long time in the literature on basic income. It can be considered a seminal contribution to the field. As a result of its pioneering nature, it should become a reference on the subject." -Thibault Laurentjoye, EHESS Paris - PSL Research University, France "This is a very valuable project that will make a critically important contribution to the literature on basic income. By moving from general principles to the question of implementation in a well-researched and empirically sound manner, this book shifts the debate toward more practical considerations at a time when there is renewed interest in the idea. The authors tackle the issue head on of how to fund a basic income." -Laurent Dobuzinskis, Simon Fraser University, Canada This Palgrave Pivot second edition argues that basic income is, in fact, affordable. The contributors approach the topic from the perspectives of three different countries-Canada, Switzerland, and Australia-to overcome objections that a universal program to keep all citizens above the poverty line would be too expensive to implement. They assess the complex array of revenue sources that can make universal basic income feasible, from the underestimated value of public program redundancies to new and so far, unaccounted publicly owned assets. This new edition adds an analysis for financing basic income in the United States, as well as considering the basic income potential in a country of far more modest economic resources, Portugal. The COVID-19 pandemic is discussed in a new Prologue, demonstrating the need for universal economic security as a precautionary measure for unforeseen crises. New research and compelling analyses are included throughout, to provide support for a dual basic income proposal. Richard Pereira, Global Labour Research Centre, York University, Toronto, former economist with the House of Commons in Canada. .

Universal basic income (UBI) is emerging as one of the most hotly debated issues in development and social protection policy. But what are the features of UBI? What is it meant to achieve? How do we know, and what don’t we know, about its performance? What does it take to implement it in practice? Drawing from global evidence, literature, and survey data, this volume provides a framework to elucidate issues and trade-offs in UBI with a view to help inform choices around its appropriateness and feasibility in different contexts. Specifically, the book examines how UBI differs from or complements other social assistance programs in terms of objectives, coverage, incidence, adequacy, incentives, effects on poverty and inequality, financing, political economy, and implementation. It also reviews past and current country experiences, surveys the full range of existing policy proposals, provides original results from micro†“tax benefit simulations, and sets out a range of considerations around the analytics and practice of UBI.

Inequality is up. Decent work is down. Free market fundamentalism has been exposed as a tragic failure. In a job market upended by COVID-19—with Canadians caught in the grip of precarious labour, stagnant wages, a climate crisis, and the steady creep of automation—an ever-louder chorus of voices calls for a liveable and obligation-free basic income. Could a basic income guarantee be the way forward to democratize security and intervene where the market economy and social programs fail? Jamie Swift and Elaine Power scrutinize the politics and the potential behind a radical proposal in a post-pandemic world: that wealth should be built by a society, not individuals. And that we all have an unconditional right to a fair share. In these pages, Swift and Power bring to the forefront the deeply personal stories of Canadians who participated in the 2017–2019 Ontario Basic Income Pilot; examine the essential literature and history behind the movement; and answer basic income’s critics from both the right and left.

Shouldn’t everyone receive a stake in society's wealth? Could we create a fairer world by guaranteeing income to all? What would this mean for our health, wealth, and happiness? Basic income is a revolutionary idea that guarantees regular, unconditional cash transfers from the government to all citizens. It is an acknowledgement that everyone plays a part in generating the wealth currently enjoyed by only a few and would rectify the recent breakdown in income distribution. Political parties across the world are now adopting this innovative policy and the idea generates headlines every day. Guy Standing has been at the forefront of thought surrounding basic income for the past thirty years, and in this book he covers in authoritative detail its effects on the economy, poverty, work, and labor; dissects and disproves the standard arguments against basic income; explains what we can learn from pilots across the world; and illustrates exactly why basic income has now become such an urgent necessity.

This discerning book provides a comprehensive analysis of the nationwide randomised Finnish basic income experiment 2017 to 2018, from planning and implementation through to the end results. It presents the background of the social policy system in which the experiment was implemented and details the narratives of the planning process alongside its constraints, as well as a final evaluation of the results.

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Shortlisted for the 2018 FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award A brilliantly reported, global look at universal basic income—a stipend given to every citizen—and why it might be necessary in an age of rising inequality, persistent poverty, and dazzling technology. Imagine if every month the government deposited $1,000 into your bank account, with nothing expected in return. It sounds crazy. But it has become one of the most influential and hotly debated policy ideas of our time. Futurists, radicals, libertarians, socialists, union representatives, feminists, conservatives, Bernie supporters, development economists, child-care workers, welfare recipients, and politicians from India to Finland to Canada to Mexico—all are talking about UBI. In this sparkling and provocative book, economics writer Annie Lowrey examines the UBI movement from many angles. She travels to Kenya to see how a UBI is lifting the poorest people on earth out of destitution, India to see how inefficient government programs are failing the poor, South Korea to interrogate UBI’s intellectual pedigree, and Silicon Valley to meet the tech titans financing UBI pilots in expectation of a world with advanced artificial intelligence and little need for human labor. Lowrey explores the potential of such a sweeping policy and the challenges the movement faces, among them contradictory aims, uncomfortable costs, and, most powerfully, the entrenched belief that no one should get something for nothing. In the end, she shows how this arcane policy has the potential to solve some of our most intractable economic problems, while offering a new vision of citizenship and a firmer foundation for our society in this age of turbulence and marvels.