Can A Basic Income Redeem The Economy?

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you didn’t have to worry about where the money came from to pay for the necessities to live? With every citizen receiving a Universal Basic Income (UBI) your basic housing, plenty of good food, all your medical, and utilities are taking care of every month. UBI is not something new but was an idea presented in the 16^th Century to improve the welfare of impoverished people. In the 18^th Century, the idea of having social insurance could reduce inequality, insecurity, and poverty. In the 19^th Century William Cobbett (1827), Samuel Read (1829) and Poulet Scrope (1833) concluded that providing guaranteed income schemes should have a firmer basis than public charity.

The Social Credit Party that governed the province of Alberta from 1935 to 1971 attracted many supporters with the idea of the introduction of a national dividend, although it rapidly was dropped. In the US in the 1960s Robert Theobald mentioned that a guaranteed minimum income is needed with automation rendering work for pay obsolete to cover the loss of jobs and income performed by automatons. Laureate Milton Friedman proposed the idea of a negative income tax where those earning less than the required minimum to live on are supplemented to reach that level.

Many studies and experiments have happened over the world. In August of 2020 Germany implemented a universal basic income trail for the next three years. A UBI experiment conducted in Finland in 2017-2018 concluded that there was a small effect on employment while providing better economic security and mental wellbeing.

From 1974 to 1979 a Canadian Guaranteed Annual Income (GAI) social experiment was conducted and implemented in joint sponsorship with the Canadian and Manitoban governments. The Manitoba Basic Annual Income Experiment, Mincome, attempted to evaluate the work behaviour of recipients using a negative income tax program.

The Dean of Social Work at the University of Manitoba gave a TED Talk in 2016 about the Basic Income: An Idea Whose Time Has Come. Dr. James Mulvale says: “By providing an economic floor for everyone in Canada, a basic or guaranteed income would simplify and streamline our income security system, lower rates of poverty and inequality, and would enable us to advance environmental sustainability in the context of a steady-state economy”.

Dr. Mulvale gives 5 key reasons for implementing an effective Basic Income program in Canada. He states that a UBI has the potential to reduce poverty, make our society more equal, recognizes and supports all the work that people do, and helps build an economy and society that are environmentally sustainable. In a country such as Canada with such a high standard of living and bountiful resources, Dr. Mulvale feels it is a moral obscenity that we still have high rates of poverty.

There are many global and grassroots movements promoting UBI. There is the Basic Income Earth Network, and at home, we have the Basic Income Canada Network. Locally, we have the Basic Income Alberta and for us Calgarians we can become part of the Basic Income Calgary organization. Join the M.A.D. Movement and Make A Difference in developing a better existence for all.

The economics profession was one that worked in the public interest, but today in the new neo-liberal era people now work for big corporations and billionaires. The time has come to equal out the economic playing field. Studies have shown that a Universal Basic Income is plausible and can provide a stable and sustainable economy. A UBI economy would eliminate poverty and promote a healthier and stress-free social lifestyle.