A Basic Income Should Be the Next Big Thing

[Purveyor]

May 2, 2016 8:00 AM EST
By
Paula Dwyer

Now and then a worthy economic proposal comes along that seems as politically unattainable as it is sensible. Then, on closer inspection, you see that it's more than a policy-wonk's fantasy. And you wonder whether it could actually prevail.

This may be happening with the concept of a universal basic income. The notion that government should guarantee every citizen an annual stipend of, say, $10,000 -- no strings attached, no questions asked -- is being studied by politicians, economists and policy experts worldwide.

Think of it as Social Security for all. In the social democracies of Europe, Canada and South America, experiments are planned or underway. In the U.S., it's still little more than a concept -- one that appears to have more conservative backers than liberal ones.

Bernie Sanders says he's "sympathetic" to the theory behind a universal basic income but stops well short of advocating it. Hillary Clinton seems even less enthusiastic. By contrast, conservative economists, politicians and think-tank scholars are not as hesitant. Marco Rubio, for example, proposed the beginnings of a basic income in his 2015 tax plan.

The rest of the world is taking the lead.

Switzerland will hold a June 5 referendum on whether to give every adult citizen 2,500 Swiss francs (about $2,600) a month. Ontario, Canada, will conduct an experiment with a basic income later this year. The city of Utrecht in the Netherlands is conducting a pilot program, and Finland is planning a two-year trial. A British proposal is gathering interest. In May, a nonprofit group will start giving 6,000 Kenyans a guaranteed income for at least a decade and follow the results.

more...

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-05-02/a-basic-income-should-be-the-next-big-thing

[Warren Stupidity]

1. Considering we are moving to a world without work

it is either a basic income or a dystopian prison planet.

My money is on prison planet.

[CrispyQ]

2. I hate that I agree with you on this.

It's such a bleak outlook, but I just don't see Homo sapiens pulling our collective head out our collective ass anytime soon.

[The2ndWheel]

4. Every system thought up by humans has issues

Basic income will be no different. However, I doubt it'll be either/or with your choices. My guess would be that it'll be a weird mixture of the two.

[appalachiablue]

3. The concept's been around since late 1700s. Hope it's not too late. ROBOTS Agree! MAY DAY, ZURICH

[Kip Humphrey]

5. The income provided must be sufficient to enable the pursuit of happiness in order to be successful.

Half measure will doom UBI and I'm sure opponents know that and will push hard to ensure that failure. UBI will work only if
the amount provided is sufficient for an individual to live with proper habitation, food, water, communications, transportation, education, and healthcare.

If properly executed, UBI will eliminate most government assistance programs but does require universal healthcare and government funded public education including higher education.

[appalachiablue]

7. A year or two ago some small town, maybe in AZ or TX was losing their local prison,

a main employer. People there protested trying to keep or bring back the jobs, but I don't know how it worked out. Like the military that employs millions, so do the PIC, law enforcement and the police and courts systems. This country greatly depends on those fields, a sorry state that's risen in the last 20 plus years.
As Bernie emphasizes and writer Michelle Alexander wrote of in 'The New Jim Crow' we now have the largest incarceration population in the world including people in jail, prison, or on parole or probation. The total is 2.2 million when the US has only 5% of the world's population. How this will change or turn out is a disturbing unknown.

[appalachiablue]

8. 'Atlas' Robot, Swearing.

[fred v]

9. Absolutely

Great idea!