Ontario has announced it could soon be sending a monthly cheque to its residents as it plans to launch an experiment testing the basic income concept. How much will be given to residents who participate is still unknown.Proponents of the idea say it would save on welfare administration costs, reduce the poverty traps of traditional welfare states, be fair to people who have jobs, and give people more autonomy in general. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of basic income, it involves a government handing out a flat-rate income to every single citizen within a country, either by replacing existing benefits or to top them up. For example, in Britain, the think tank Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce has proposed a system of universal income that would give a basic amount to fit, working-age people that it believes would still give a strong incentive to these people to work. It suggests providing an income of £3,692 (around 5,200 US dollars) for all qualifying citizens between 25 and 65, or £308 ($440) per month. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...iversal-basic-income-experiment-a6916571.html
GBI would certainly save an enormous amount of waste, delay, fraud, administrative red tape and cross-referencing, as well as headaches in tax season. But what shall we do with all the unemployed paper-pushers and inspectors? (Actually, I have a plan. It'll be all right.)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/basic-income-interest-1.3479079 The research has been done - by serious academics; the literature has been in circulation for decades. It's time!