Buying Off The Serfs With 'Free Money': Canadian Province Experiments with 'Basic Income'

Politicians in the United Kingdom, Finland and the Netherlands have also toyed with the idea of a basic income for those of working age.

Buying Off The Serfs With 'Free Money': Canadian Province Experiments with 'Basic Income' Doe_c.png_1718483346

Buying Off The Serfs With 'Free Money': Canadian Province Experiments with 'Basic Income' Doe_c.png_1718483346

The Canadian province of Ontario has announced it is close to piloting the basic income concept, although specific details of the project have yet to be confirmed such as how much each person will receive per month.

The premise of basic income involves the government handing out a fixed-rate income for every citizen of working age to cover expenses such as food, transportation, clothing, and utilities, regardless of one's salary.

In a budget statement released in late February, Ontario’s Ministry of Finance said the impending test is needed to make society more fair.

“As Ontario’s economy grows, the government remains committed to leaving no one behind. Maintaining an effective social safety net is one part of the government’s broader efforts to reduce poverty and ensure inclusion in communities and the economy,” the statement read.

“The pilot project will test a growing view at home and abroad that basic income could build on the success of minimum wage policies and increases in child benefits by providing more consistent and predictable support in the context of today’s dynamic labor market,” it added.

The Basic Income Canada Network, a national organization that promotes the implementation of a basic income, is hopeful the move will take place soon and then be adopted throughout the country.

"We need it rolled out across Canada, and Quebec, too, is in the game," said Sheila Regehr, the group's chairperson, in a statement. "So there's no reason why people and governments in other parts of this country need sit on the sidelines – it's time for us all to get to work."

Countries such as the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland have toyed with the idea of basic income distribution and many see it as a viable alternative for unemployment benefits and other welfare payments.

Last month U.K. opposition lawmaker John McDonnell, charged with proposing the Labour Party's finance plan for government, said his party would not rule out a basic income as a policy during a talk at the London School of Economics.

“It's an idea we want to look at. Child Benefit was a form of basic income so it's not something that I would rule out,” he said, referring to a welfare payment for all mothers.

British Green Party politician Caroline Lucas has also praised the concept, saying a basic income "sweeps away most of the bureaucracy of the current welfare system.”

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Free-Money-Canadian-Province-Experiments-with-Basic-Income-20160307-0029.html

Buying Off The Serfs With 'Free Money': Canadian Province Experiments with 'Basic Income'

Buying Off The Serfs With 'Free Money': Canadian Province Experiments with 'Basic Income'

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