Universal Basic Income (Wilberg on Wednesday)

Here is an important addition to the current SWPE Policy Outline: namely a Universal Basic Income.

Many good reasons for this:

Firstly the myth must be dispelled that it will encourage workshy scrounging. Quite the opposite. Instead it will removes the massive disincentive to work created by 'conditional welfare' i.e. ruthless arbitrary sanctioning of welfare claimant - and loss of important benefits by those in work. Instead both out of work welfare claims and in work benefits will both become unnecessary.

It will, in other words, replace the capitalist 'welfare state' entirely, and give the people dignity instead.

It will give those in or out of work sufficient security to say no to extreme exploitation e.g. of the sub-living wage or zero hours contract type.

It will actually give people a chance consider the sort of work, that as individuals they would actually most like to do - rather than be forced to do.

It will, in this way, generate a wholly different type of will to work - not one based on pushing people in any form of forced wage-slavery that is going.

It will give women the freedom to become full-time mothers if they so choose.

In general, it will provide a secure and less economically stressed foundation for family life.

It will create a foundation for creative individual and cooperative entrepreneurship.

It will fuel the economy, since all money spent on it will feed back into the economy, replace austerity thrift, the need for charitable food banks etc.

It will remove the massive costs of maintaining (or even trying to shrink!) the existing welfare bureaucracies and systems.

It will safeguard jobs by maintaining custom for existing businesses. (If you buy veggies or meat from a farm or company you are not actually paying for the product - the product has already been paid for. You purchase just keeps the business going.

It will hugely benefit the mental and thereby also physical health of the people by reducing one of the principal causes of illness - economic stress.

Note: Countless trials and studies of UBI in different countries have also shown these and other results. A Canadian trial, for example reported a 9% drop in hospital admissions, and a significant rise in small scale entrepreneurship, increase school attendance and performance (in particular by boys). Many other results could be cited - for example less alcoholism, drug abuse etc.



A few visit-worthy links:

http://www.basicincome.org.uk/

http://positivemoney.org/how-money-works/how-banks-create-money/

http://www.scottsantens.com/basic-income-faq

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB7OUHbK1BE&feature=youtu.be