Understanding Basic Income: A position paper from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union was delivered to the Government of Ontario today as the union's submission to the government's consultation around the Basic Income Pilot.
Introduction: the basics of Basic Income
In the 2016 Ontario budget, Finance Minister Charles Sousa announced a pilot project to learn more about a how a “Basic Income” might work in Ontario.
The idea of a Basic Income (BI), also known as a Guaranteed Annual Income (GAI) and by other names, has been around for some time. A Basic Income provides a regular payment from government to all citizens. It is meant to reduce poverty, and improve lives, by making sure that no one’s income falls below a certain level. The Basic Income comes with no strings attached – there are no eligibility criteria.
Basic Income has supporters and opponents on both sides of the political spectrum.
On the left, supporters see it as a way to raise incomes, improve health and quality of life, and remove the stigma of collecting social assistance. Opponents say that, in the current context at least, Basic Income is likely to be paid for through cuts to public services, thereby leaving all citizens, including poor people, worse off.
On the right, supporters of the Basic Income see it as a way to prevent destitution while at the same time justifying cuts to public services, which citizens can buy privately with their Basic Income dollars. Opponents see it as a dangerous approach that drives up wages: if Basic Income allows some workers to drop out of the workforce because they no longer need to work, those who remain can demand, and win, huge pay increases.
In Canada, one of the strongest advocates of the Basic Income has been Hugh Segal. A former Chief of Staff to both Ontario Premier Bill Davis and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Segal is widely thought of as a progressive conservative. In the 2016 budget announcement, the Ontario government chose Segal as a Special Advisor tasked with creating a framework for the Basic Income Pilot.
After presenting his discussion paper to the government in August 2016, Segal released Finding A Better Way: A Basic Income Pilot Project for Ontario