https://doreenn.substack.com/p/why-the-1-doesnt-want-a-basic-income?r=1psqv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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From: Social Determinants of Health <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Elizabeth Kay-Raining Bird <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 8, 2024 7:54 PM
To: sdoh
Subject: Re: [SDOH] Basic Income cont.

The intent of a livable BIG is to provide an income floor that is sufficient to eliminate income insecurity and poverty and to enable everyone to live with dignity, regardless of work or relationship status. There is considerable agreement  among advocates across Canada regarding the principles, or core elements, that should inform the implementation of a livable basic income guarantee (BIG; see consensus statement<https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f07c00c5fce40c46b92df3d/63fe344ebc720b8cdef77cf4_Consensus%20Statement%20February%202023.pdf>).
A BIG would benefit those who are not engaged in paid labour and precarious workers by reducing income insecurity. In so doing it would help reduce income inequities and give workers more power. As Jim Stanford argues, “access to unconditional income supports for working-age people opens the possibility of ‘decommodifying’ their lives” (Stanford, 2022<https://centreforfuturework.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Income-Security-and-Workers-Power-Jan2022.pdf>). The work of basic income advocates across Canada is having positive impacts. Witness Municipalities across the country raising their voices in support; provinces such as PEI and Newfoundland & Labrador calling for implementing a Basic Income Guarantee; Bill S-233 and C-223 both calling for a National Framework to be developed; and Bill 22 to establish a Canada Disability Benefit receiving royal assent.
Of course, a livable BIG would not be a panacea but would be an essential component of broad publicly-funded supports and services, many of which, themselves, need to be improved. BIG would be compatible with and complement other necessary societal improvements such as higher wages, rent control, greater availability of non-market housing, stronger and more wide-spread unions, more affordable basic necessities, and public education and health care systems. The need for a BIG does not negate the need for these other important need. And yes, modifying the tax system to make it more equitable could pay for a basic income and much more. BICN<https://basicincomecanada.org/policy_options/> and UBI Works<https://www.ubiworks.ca/howtopay> provide examples of how to fund a BIG by making the tax system more equitable.
Sincerely,
Mandy Kay-Raining Bird
Professor Emeritus, Dalhousie University

From: Social Determinants of Health <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Alvin Finkel
Sent: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 2:21 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [SDOH] Basic Income cont.

CAUTION: The Sender of this email is not from within Dalhousie.
While John Clarke makes some superficially good points, his response to Leah Gazan confirms Elaine Powers' point about the opponents of basic income reifying the commodification of labour and basically not concerning themselves that much with how those who don't work for a living get by other than calling for work for all, which is a debatable goal. I say "superficially good points" because his essential argument is that the basic income will be set at a low level that accommodates the conception of basic income of Elon Musk rather than Leah Gazan or Elaine Powers. But how is that different from current social policies like "employment insurance" which currently is largely set at a poverty level for most folks and only a fraction of the unemployed end up being eligible to obtain--far fewer than in the pre-neo-liberal period? Clarke argues correctly that workers need to fight to get EI rates higher and eligibility improved. But how is that different from fighting to have a decent level basic income except that they would be fighting for a larger group than those who can be reliably counted upon to be able to take jobs and keep them? Maybe the term "basic income" is the wrong one. Perhaps we should be talking about an "end poverty grant" in which everyone has their income topped up to above-poverty levels for their type of household with their special needs incorporated. That should then be paid for from corporate income tax, a hike of the capital gains tax to match income tax rates, and a special tax on the wealthy. Anyway, I fail to see anything in either of John Clarke's two pieces in Canadian Dimension that makes much of a case for there being something wrong with basic income being tacked onto the social programs that currently include EI along with medicare, CPP etc. A basic income could replace disability payments and social allowances (the latter are always much lower and seem to assume that recipients are not "disabled" in workforce terms when, in reality, the largest portion of them are single moms unable
 to work, Indigenous people who face employment discrimination, etc.) along with the non-insurance seniors' programs. And can anybody guarantee that they won't prove to be lower than the current program payouts, which is what the Elon Musks and Pierre Poilievre would demand? No, but I think that the coalitions that could be built to defend that "end poverty grant" or whatever would be larger than the coalition involved for current programs where smaller sections of the population have something at stake.


On Wed, Feb 7, 2024 at 5:36 AM Dennis Raphael <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/defending-the-left-case-against-basic-income

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Of interest:

The Politics of Health in the Canadian Welfare State

https://canadianscholars.ca/book/the-politics-of-health-in-the-canadian-welfare-state/


Poverty in Canada, 3rd edition,
Forewords by Cathy Crowe, Rob Ranier and Jack Layton
https://canadianscholars.ca/book/poverty-in-canada-d3408482-0caa-489a-8a76-7faf7587d00a/



Staying Alive: Critical Perspectives on Health, Illness, and Health Care, 3rd edition
Foreword by Gary Teeple
https://canadianscholars.ca/book/staying-alive/



Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives, 3rd edition
Forewords by Michael Butler and Maude Barlow, Carolyn Bennett and Roy Romanow
https://canadianscholars.ca/book/social-determinants-of-health-3rd-edition/

Immigration, Public Policy, and Health: Newcomer Experiences in Developed Nations
https://canadianscholars.ca/book/immigration-public-policy-and-health/

About Canada: Health and Illness, 2nd edition
https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/about-canada-health-and-illness

Tackling Health Inequalities: Lessons from International Experiences
Foreword by Alex Scott-Samuel
https://canadianscholars.ca/book/tackling-health-inequalities/

Health Promotion and Quality of Life in Canada: Essential Readings

https://canadianscholars.ca/book/health-promotion-and-quality-of-life-in-canada/

See a presentation! The Political Economy of Health Inequalities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NCTYqAub8g

Also, presentation at the University of Toronto on how Canada stacks up again other nations in providing citizens with economic and social security.
http://vimeo.com/33346501

See what Jack Layton had to say about my books!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/04/10/cv-election-ndp-layton-platform.html
at 27:20

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