Canadian province Ontario plans to trial universal basic income

[n2doc]

Source: Independent

Ontario has announced it could soon be sending a monthly cheque to its residents as it plans to launch an experiment testing the basic income concept.

While officials in the Canadian province are yet to release any specific details of the project – including how much will be given to residents who participate – the finance ministry has published a report confirming the government’s intention to roll out the experiment.

The general concept of basic income involves a government handing out a flat-rate income to every single citizen within a country, either by replacing existing benefits or to top them up.

Proponents of the idea say it would save on welfare administration costs, reduce the poverty traps of traditional welfare states, be fair to people who have jobs, and give people more autonomy in general.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ontario-to-pilot-a-universal-basic-income-experiment-a6916571.html

[tazkcmo]

1. Every day

Canada shows America what's possible if you try. Single payer isn't too difficult for them. It's not a "pony". I sure wish I lived in a country where anything was possible. Like going to the moon.

[area51]

20. +1 n/t

[malthaussen]

2. What, the whole province?

Yeah, details would be appreciated, Independent. There are and have been pilot programs that have tested this with small populations (e.g., a whole town of a couple thousand people), but nothing on a large scale. The results from the small-scale experiments are universally good, and universally ignored.

-- Mal

[pinebox]

3. Canada is everything America SHOULD be

[YOHABLO]

17. I could not agree more. If anyone builds a wall, it will be Canada--to keep us out.

[snort]

4. It's brilliant.

We aren't foragers. Survival of the fittest is for Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. We have set up our civilization such that money is as basic a necessity as air water and shelter. Bonus: Poets and Artisans could operate more freely and I think that is highly beneficial.

[DhhD]

5. Does a basic wage in Canada, have the same meaning as a living wage in the United States?

Calculator for all 50 States:
http://livingwage.mit.edu/


Ontario is close to New York. Would there be any equivalences with the capital city areas and for the county areas?

http://livingwage.mit.edu/states/36/locations


What would be a good place for an experiment here with a living wage? Some cities in the US have increased pay above the federal minimum wage. It will not be long before we know about the difference.

https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0SO8xgnod1WaEcAz_Sl87UF;_ylc=X1MDOTU4MTA0NjkEX3IDMgRmcgMEZ3ByaWQDNHV6b3Vkc1lURUs0aXY1THQ4Lm9BQQRuX3JzbHQDMARuX3N1Z2cDMwRvcmlnaW4Dc2VhcmNoLnlhaG9vLmNvbQRwb3MDMARwcXN0cgMEcHFzdHJsAwRxc3RybAM1OQRxdWVyeQNDaXR5IGFsb25nIHRoZSBJZGFobyBhbmQgT3JlZ29uIGJvcmRlcnMgcGF5IGRpZmZlcmVudCB3YWdlcwR0X3N0bXADMTQ1NzM2NTMyMQ--?p=City+along+the+Idaho+and+Oregon+borders+pay+different+wages&fr=sfp&fr2=sb-top-search&iscqry=

[thesquanderer]

6. Socialism is less and less seen as a dirty word. (n/t)

[Solly Mack]

7. K&R

[Nitram]

8. One unintended consequence that comes to mind is that this might cause...

Last edited Mon Mar 7, 2016, 03:01 PM - Edit history (1)

...an enormous flow of economically disadvantaged people to the province, and an outflow of higher earning folk. Ontario taxes are already high.

[treestar]

9. They could restrict it to residents of

Some required years standing.

Although I have never seen real proof this happens. People uprooting their families and traveling to get benefit. Very poor people could not afford to travel

[Nitram]

11. Taxes are already high in Ontario.

I suspect this would raise them significantly. May also drive businesses out, and with them, jobs. I speak from many years experience in northern Ontario, where taxes on business to support new infrastructure and schools caused businesses to close and never return. I feel weird writing what sound exactly like typical conservative talking points, but I'm basing this on experience, not ideology.

[FlaGranny]

13. Knowing a lot of Canadian citizens

as I do, their middle class is not hurting like ours is. They actually get benefits that outweigh the financial impact of their taxes.

[Nitram]

14. Farther north, the line between middle class and barely making it...

...can be very thin.

[inanna]

10. Another article dated March 4th

Canada plans to experiment with giving people unconditional free money

Finland and the Netherlands have already shown their interest in giving people a regular monthly allowance regardless of working status, and now Ontario, Canada is onboard.

Ontario's government announced in February that a pilot program will be coming to the Canadian province sometime later this year.

The premise: send people monthly checks to cover living expenses such as food, transportation, clothing, and utilities — no questions asked.

It's a radical idea, and one that has been around since the 1960s. It's called "basic income." In the decades since it was first proposed, various researchers and government officials have given basic income experiments a try, to mixed results.

cont'd...

Link: http://www.techinsider.io/ontario-announces-basic-income-plan-2016-3

[tabasco]

12. Canada and the rest of the developed nations are far ahead of the U.S. in every respect.

Except military spending. The U.S. resembles a third world nation that wastes all of its resources on a corrupt military-industrial complex. While other countries improve their infrastructure and quality of life, the U.S. throws half of its wealth down the Pentagon toilets.

[pampango]

15. When will Canadians learn that 'socialist' stuff does not work in North America? Maybe in Europe but

not on this side of the ocean. We are exceptional!

[inanna]

16. I can't even believe I'm reading this!

This could change everything.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

18. Same here,

As someone living in Ontario, some details would be nice though, considering what a bombshell this is.

[inanna]

19. I am in Ontario also.

This was the only topic at work tonight!

[Angel Martin]

21. a helicopter drop of free money...

because being the largest non-Sovereign debtor in the world is not enough...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-20/ontario-more-indebted-than-california-ignores-s-p-in-borrowing

[yellowcanine]

22. Isn't this basically what Alaska does with oil dividends?