It's Not About Poverty

(Okay, it's not JUST about eradicating poverty.) A review of the under-discussed benefits of a universal basic income.

[This article is part 4 of a 4-part series. Minimal prerequisite reading might be this, this, and this.]

A Guaranteed Basic Income for all citizens of a country is WAY more than a shift in the money paradigm—it actually changes how every single person views the meaning of money, and of time, and of their reason for being.

In my previous post in this mini-series, I suggested that the best first step in solving the value crisis is very likely a universal basic income.

[Frankly, I prefer the term “guaranteed living allowance” for reasons given here, but I will stick to the term “basic income” for clarity.]

Some Basic Income History

The idea of a basic income for all can be traced back as far as the early 16th century and Sir Thomas More. The idea has been tossed around a lot since then, and when social support programs came into being, they were essentially trying to accomplish something similar—giving monetary assistance to people who desperately needed it, based on an application. When U.S. President Nixon proposed the Family Assistance Plan in 1968, basic income was framed as a “negative income tax”. Various basic income pilot programs have been tried in multiple countries since then, but they have been consistently targeted at the goal of eradicating poverty.

Proposals for using basic income to address poverty typically come in two flavours: (1) Redistributing wealth from the very top to the very bottom, or (2) increasing the movement of money so that it delivers more benefits for more people. We also know that using basic income to address poverty really works. Time after time, trials like Mincome and the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration have shown that such an approach does reduce poverty, and actually saves money, without producing the negative side effects that cynics predicted. There are plenty of resources addressing the mechanics—I even created my own take on where the money would come from, just to provide a fresh perspective.

Whichever way you work it, eradicating poverty is an extremely worthy goal. But it misses the real power of what a basic income can do. For example, solving poverty is essentially a numbers-based challenge. Poverty is defined by a shortage of cash. Period. It is time to look past the numbers to something far grander—to envision an opportunity to perhaps reach the next stage of human society’s evolution.

The Individual Value Change

Even when used as a tool against poverty, the evidence is clear that the impact of a basic income goes way beyond the money. The recent two-year experiment in Stockton saw 125 randomly-selected individuals living in neighbourhoods with lower-than-average incomes receive a mere $500 per month. Even that small amount had very serious benefits compared to the control group: more employment, more stability, less stress, less debt, and healthier families. No one can live on $500/month, but their lives were changed. There was hope, there was a gift that had never been there before—saying that people might be valued just because they existed. And that changed everything.

A Guaranteed Basic Income for all citizens of a country is way more than a shift in the money paradigm—it actually changes how every single person views the meaning of money, and time, and of their reason for being. Just stop for a moment, at the end of this sentence, close your eyes, and imagine how your life would change if you knew that every month you would receive a guaranteed $1500 (say), for the rest of your life.

(No really—do it.)

I don’t know your personal situation, and even that might change—for instance:

• When you are trying to guess which education will produce a job and sufficient income for you (regardless of your actual passion or innate talent);

• When you want to take a risk on a new enterprise without risking homelessness;

• When a personal trauma demands that you take time off to heal;

• When Artificial Intelligence (AI) threatens your job security;

• When your spouse is abusing you or your child, but you can’t afford to leave;

• When you choose living in simplicity and a life of volunteerism to help others;

• When you are terrorized by the fear of not having enough money when you are too old to work;

• When money becomes your overwhelming objective in life for half of the hours of your ‘working age’, instead of merely a tool to make trade work.

A basic income can change the worldview of every single person who suddenly discovers how they might use it, regardless of their social status. Instead of their regular income being seen as a solitary survival imperative, it might be viewed as more of a reward for a job well-done; a bonus to be put towards the special things in life. Or those who recognize that gifts (like a basic income) actually inspire giving and who derive maximum joy from giving and sharing with others. A basic income helps delineate need from want.

The World Value Change

Don’t forget where we started this little mini-series of essays. We were looking for solutions to the Value Crisis (and thus Climate Change, Ecological Overshoot, and more). It is my belief that a basic income might be the very best first step in making all of this happen.

There is not enough room in this essay to explore the full potential of how our society could change from a values perspective. However, there are two important things to keep in mind when embarking on such an exploration:

Firstly, the skeptics will raise a lot of difficult questions (some of which I try to address here), but at the end of the day, we cannot forget that it is very difficult to produce accurate answers to these concerns because so much of our social and economic paradigm will have shifted. (That is, after all, the whole point.) It would be like saying in 1970: “An internet? That keeps changing and evolving? Who is going to print and distribute all of those user guides to keep up?” That’s not how game changers work. We have to throw out old assumptions.

Secondly, despite all of that potential, a basic income might be one of the most practical and supportable change agents available. Consider, we need:

• Something that does not directly threaten the status quo paradigm.

• Something that, at face value, might even look like it would support the old status quo.

• Something that has been tried already and shown to have success potential.

• Something that does not immediately lower the corporate bottom line or the power of the super-wealthy.

• Something that already has support on both ends of the political spectrum.

• Something that could easily gain broad support from all the people.

• Something that suited the new circumstances (e.g. AI).

And most importantly...

• Something that could start small and had the potential of being a total game changer—a way to beat the value change conundrum.

How is this Ever Going to Happen?

Good news. It is happening right now. Yes, there is a long history and positive outcomes from pilot programs, but COVID-19 and AI have pushed basic income back into serious political committee rooms. I am willing to wager that some level of actual elected government above you is discussing the topic right now. (That includes Bill S-206 being debated in the Canadian federal Senate right now.)

This is not a fairy tale Utopia. It is something you can learn lots more about and get behind with your personal representative or leader. But don’t just tell them that you support the idea; tell them that it could solve climate change!

Yes, a basic income (guaranteed living allowance) could eliminate poverty. And if that’s how it arrives, I’m all for it. But my optimism goes wildly further than that.