“Conservative senator Hugh Segal has been the biggest supporter of this kind of GI, claiming it would eliminate the social assistance programs now administered by the provinces and territories. Rather than having a separate office to administer child tax benefits, welfare, unemployment insurance and income supplement for seniors, they could all be rolled into one GI scheme.”
In his book Capitalism and Freedom, Milton Friedman said the same thing-abolish all welfare programs etc and provide cash income to the poor. On FR a few days ago we spent $60,000 per person for those in poverty.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MILTON FRIEDMAN BORN 100 YEARS AGO THIS YEAR. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HIS BOOK CAPITALISM AND FREEDOM
PUBLISHED 50 YEARS AGO. His book helped launch the conservative revival.
If you don’t want workers able to unionize in order to get more negotiating power then I think this is the next best way to empower workers. If you don’t NEED to take that crappy $7.50/hr job to do things like eat and live then you can hold out for a higher paying job or if enough people refuse to take bad jobs for even worse wages then it will force employers to raise wages.
It reminds me when people would say that mexicans do jobs americans don’t want to. Well, to be accurate the statement should have been mexicans do jobs for wages that americans wouldn’t do them for.
A Basic Income leads to more liberty and more happiness for society.