Posted on 06/29/2014 9:07:05 PM PDT by Decombobulator
MONTREAL -- A group of academics and activists is trying to drum up interest in an ambitious plan to provide every Canadian with a guaranteed minimum level of income -- whether or not they have a job.
Rob Rainer, a campaign director for the Basic Income Canada Network, envisions a country where everyone is assured a minimum of $20,000 annually to make ends meet.
"For many of us, we think the goal is no one should be living in poverty," Rainer said at a conference on the issue over the weekend at McGill University.
"That's essentially what we're striving to achieve."
More than 100 speakers and participants were on hand for the conference, which focused on the merits of a guaranteed minimum income that would either replace or exist alongside existing social programs.
The idea is hardly new -- the Canadian and Manitoba government conducted an experiment with the issue in the 1970s -- but it has enjoyed a resurgence lately.
Switzerland is expected to hold a non-binding referendum this fall on whether to guarantee every citizen an annual income of Cdn $35,900.
And in the United Sates, the idea has supporters on both sides of the political spectrum.
Proponents on the left argue it represents an opportunity for greater redistribution of wealth, while those on the right see it as a chance to cut back on bureaucracy and return control to people's lives.
The two sides disagree, however, on whether there would be accompanying tax hikes and whether other social programs would remain place.
Almaz Zelleke, a professor at New York University, said guaranteed income has rarely had this much attention in the United States since President Richard Nixon tried to introduce such a program for families in the 1960s. That effort was ultimately thwarted by Congress.
At the conference, Zelleke gave a presentation laying out how a guaranteed income could be offset by taxes and work from a practical, fiscal standpoint. But even she admitted it would be a challenge to get such a plan on the agenda in Washington, D.C.
"To be very honest, it's not on the agenda of any mainstream political party in the United States," she said in an interview, but added a recent surge in media attention has, helpfully, "generated discussion among people who understand that there are problems with the welfare state."
In Canada, the town of Dauphin, Man., was famously the subject of a government pilot project where residents were provided with a guaranteed minimum income from 1974-1978.
The goal of the program, which cost $17 million, was to find out whether providing extra money directly to residents below a certain household income level would make for effective social policy.
The community's overall health improved and hospital rates declined during the period, according to a 2010 study by Evelyn Forget, a professor at the University of Manitoba.
Former Conservative senator Hugh Segal, who officially resigned from his post this month, argued for years in favour of the idea, saying it would provide more effective services at a reduced cost.
Quebec's new minister of employment and social solidarity was also once a prominent advocate.
Francois Blais, a former political science professor, published a book in 2002 called "Ending Poverty: A Basic Income for All Canadians," though Philippe Couillard's Liberal government has made no commitments on the issue.
At the federal level, Rainer conceded it's far from the agenda of the current Conservative government, but said there's a "little bit of traction" among opposition parties.
Liberal Party delegates passed two resolutions related to guaranteed minimum income at a meeting in Montreal this year -- a move Rainer called "pretty significant."
The Green Party also endorses the notion in its party platform.
"The idea is not new, it's not really radical," Rainer said, pointing out that seniors and families with children receive a form of guaranteed income from the government.
"Where it does become more radical is when you get into the area of the working age population, and the idea that people should receive some income whether they are in the labour market or not. That's a fairly radical idea in our culture, because most of us were brought up to believe that in order to survive you have to work."
They are proposing giving the money whether people work or not...
Then build a mile-wide corridor from the Mexican border to the Canadian border, bounded on each side with razor wire, concrete walls, and guard towers.
I did, for one.
Nixon proposed the Earned Income Tax Credit (E.I.T.C.), he wasn't around long enough to sign it into law, that dubious honor fell to Gerald Ford. Increased under every administration, without exception, since it was signed into law.
A negative income tax, taking from the rich and giving it to the ever present, "deserving poor".
But with plenty of water fountains, vending machines, and toilets on the way. Wouldn’t want anyone to not make it to the Promised Land.
Is that $20K CAD or $$20K USD...
If there is not a difference now, there will be.
DK
You conservatives, everything has to be explained to you. Look, it's a simple three-step process.
Step 1: Guarantee everyone at least $20,000 a year.
Step 2: ?
Step 3: Everyone lives happily ever after.
I know that Step 2 needs work. But Steps 1 and 3, they sure do sound great. Very liberal, in fact.
“To me it means someone with no income would get that amount but if you earn say $15,000. it would seem to me you would only get $5,000. and if you earn $20,000. or more you would get nothing.”
Why would you work for $15k per year, plus $5K free, if you could not work and get the whole $20K per year anyway?
No one would work for $15K per year, if they could get $20K per year for free.
So, all jobs would have to pay well over $20K per year to attract anyone.
You probably aren’t going to work hard for $25K per year, if you can get $20K per year for doing nothing.
A negative income tax is different, it’s essentially a top-up where if you make less than $20,000 then you get topped up to 20k. That’s obviously a bad idea because if somebody is currently earning 20k they’d probably just stop working.
A guaranteed income is different in that everyone gets $20,000/year added to whatever they already make regardless of if they earn nothing or if they’re earning millions. The big selling point of the whole thing is that there are no administration costs involved in checking if somebody qualifies for it or not, everyone gets it no questions asked.
What you’re describing is a negative income tax.
A guaranteed basic income is when an amount of money is distributed to everyone unconditionally, regardless of any income they already have. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income )
The article is a bit vague, but I don’t think they’re proposing a negative income tax.
Considering we’re going to have 11 or so million illegals, maybe more, all getting 20K too, and unlimited illegal immigration thereafter, seems like a horrible idea. Not to mention horrible for all the other reasons: We’d probably have to gut the military to pay for it, and then still go broke.
So if you are 30 years old and doing well, you can take the free $20K per year you don’t need, and just stick it in an interest earning account?
That would be nice. Without any interest, at age 60 you have $600K free bucks.
With a good investment plan, you could have $1M free bucks.
Gee and Cruz just renounced his Canadian citizenship!
So this professor is talking about a minimum income of $1,700 per month per adult of whatever age. This is equivalent to $10 per hour for an average job. For comparison, the minimum wage in Ontario has just been raised to $11.
Pretty much, although the 20k would get added to your taxable income so a high earner would have to pay a signification portion of it back in taxes.
lol
profit!
Kudos. You caught the South Park reference. Hopefully, the Canadian plan will involve neither gnomes nor underpants.
Ok, I'm done now.
From the 1930s to the 1970s there was a party in Canada called Social Credit. They were dominant in a few provincial governments for years and always had a good representation in the federal government.
Their philosophy was that all the federal government has to do to overcome poverty is print money and send it out to citizens. They were called the “funny money” party but in the Depression when they started, that wasn’t such a crazy idea.
I don’t know if this generation even remembers Social Credit but these guys here seem to be going down that road.
If we could limit our welfare cases to just $29k a year for all benifits we could balance the budget!
Our leaches get almost $40k a year now.
prices immediately react so that cost of living rises 20 grand a year to offset this.
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