Let& #39;s take the Senator& #39;s advice and read the report.

Here& #39;s why the PBO& #39;s UBI plan would be a disaster for many people with disabilities or medical issues. https://twitter.com/yuenpauwoo/status/1379834229480157186">https://twitter.com/yuenpauwo...
Here& #39;s how the UBI would work. Individuals get a floor of 17K, couples one of 24K. (Q: Which individual in the couple gets the income?)

That is, assuming they file a tax return, which 10-15% of Canadians do not, and something like 97% of the homeless don& #39;t. So universal-ish.
And if someone in your family has a disability (likely using the same qualifications that the CRA currently uses) there& #39;s an additional $6,000 top-up.
But here& #39;s the crucial part... those benefits are clawed back by 50 cents for every dollar of income earned.

So that disability top-up is fully eliminated after you& #39;ve earned $12,000 or more a year.
And this clawback is important. At a 50% clawback PLUS the other income-based taxes that exist, low income households would face marginal effective tax rates of 50-65% - higher than some billionaires currently face.
But let& #39;s go back with PWDs. If you earn more than $12,000, you lose the entire disabilities top-up. And a person with disabilities (with or without kids) earning more than $45,000 or so gets zero in disabilities top-up or UBI.
But it& #39;s worse than that... not only do they get nothing, but they lose an entire suite of benefits currently provided by the tax system. Here& #39;s the full list.
These are not trivial losses - just the basic personal exemption losses alone are a couple grand.

But you lose supports for medical expenses, caregiver expenses, disability expenses, etc.
For some persons with disabilities, that do not have significant medical/disability/caregiving expenses, this may be a good trade-off.

For others, that do have significant medical expenses, this could make them worse off by tens of thousands of dollars.
In short, any program that replaces needs-based programs with a one-size-fits-all cheque, ends up re-distributing from high-needs to low-needs individuals.

Low medical expenses: Better off with the cheque
High medical expenses: You& #39;re toast
And guess how replacing needs-based disabilities supports with flat cheques ended?

BADLY. IT ENDED BADLY.

Why on earth would a basic income supporter look at the Ford government reforms and think "that& #39;s a model we should adopt!"
In short, if you think replacing a bunch of caregiver/medical expense/disabilities supports with a cheque, which fully phases out to $0 once you& #39;ve earned $12,000 is a good idea, re-do your math.

/thread
I’d love to see the meeting where they workshopped this proposal.

Senator 1: We’ve got this basic income program, but it’s expensive. Where should we get the money from?

Sen 2: Corporations?

Sen 3: Wealthy families?

Sen 4: TAKE IT FROM THE KID WITH A SEEING-EYE DOG
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