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The appeal of "minimum income" or "universal basic income" is that it& #39;s an abstract undefined concept, so people read what they want into it. As soon as we start talking specifics, it becomes clear that there are costs and winners and losers. 1/5 https://twitter.com/ArmineYalnizyan/status/1252930350046679040">https://twitter.com/ArmineYal...

Economics teaches you that people aren& #39;t stupid. Yet some of the minimum income debate seems to assume, implicitly, that policy makers are stupid - that there was this great policy alternative out there all the time, and they just didn& #39;t see it. Sorry, not the case. 2/

We& #39;ve been moving in the minimum income direction for years. Seniors have had one for decades through the Guaranteed Income Supplement. Canada child benefit is a minimum income for kids, and the Canada workers benefit is another step towards a min inc 3/

But there are good arguments against scrapping current programs in favour of a min inc, like the ones @ArmineYalnizyan talks about - housing costs vary widely across the country. Some people have low incomes and high wealth. Temporary need is different from permanent need. 4/

People& #39;s lives are complicated. That means income support tends to be complicated too. 5/ end thread.