We Need A Basic Income Guarantee
Abstract: Speech on the Need for a Basic Income Guarantee
Nobel laureates such as Joseph Stiglitz, Milton Freidman, Friedrich Hayak, James Tobin, James Buchanan, James Meade, Paul Krugman, Herbert A. Simon, Robert Solow support some form of a BIG
Some of the best minds in economics that our civilization has produced from the left and the right support BIG
- Because it is good for the economy and for the people.
By putting more money in the hands of the people we create demand for goods and services that support the needs of the people.
This is a re-balancing of the economy in favour of people and away from industries that do not produce value for people such as the financial derivatives industry.
A BIG would diminish the artificially created competitive environment of the job market and free us to work at whatever enterprise is fulfilling and self-actualizing.
- Remember that there are a limited number of jobs but work is unlimited.
There are plenty of values and human motivations beyond the mere accumulation of monetary value; values such as
- Altruism, public spirit, charity, honour, glory, self-actualization, self-transcendence etc.
When we fulfill people’s basic needs; when we free them from wage slavery or wage peonage:
We free them to these other values for the benefit of all of society in an upward virtuous cycle
Canada’s GDP is $1.98 trillion ; Canada’s population is 35 million ; that yields an average of $55000.
Take a third of that for BIG and you still have 2/3, over a trillion dollars to motivate those who compete for monetary accumulation.
The solution to homelessness is Housing
The solution to hunger and starvation is food
The solution to Poverty is a Basic Income Guarantee