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Latest by me. Yes, I wrote *another* basic income piece.
Want to combine a bunch of existing federal supports into a Basic Income? Turns out, it's a pretty short list! https://mikepmoffatt.medium.com/basic-income-what-federal-income-supports-could-be-folded-into-one-caa7eb0fde6c
Want to combine a bunch of existing federal supports into a Basic Income? Turns out, it's a pretty short list! https://mikepmoffatt.medium.com/basic-income-what-federal-income-supports-could-be-folded-into-one-caa7eb0fde6c
As always, here's the TL;DR. There are 3, maybe 4 income supports you could combine together. Though just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
If you're willing to gut disability supports and think the federal government can unilaterally cut provincial programs, then you get a long list of things that could be eliminated, like what the PBO came up with.
But if we take that list and eliminate:
- Anything outside of federal jurisdiction
- Anything that's a targeted support for people with disabilities, medical expenses, etc.
You're left with a list that contains only four programs.
- Anything outside of federal jurisdiction
- Anything that's a targeted support for people with disabilities, medical expenses, etc.
You're left with a list that contains only four programs.
It's theoretically possible to fold these programs into a single-one. But these programs work very differently, so in practice, it's far more difficult than it looks. And it's not clear what the benefits would be.
In general, the whole approach is backwards. We should first figure out what we want to accomplish, then find the best tool for the job. Instead, BI supporters have identified a tool they like and are figuring out what to use it on.
In the spirit of being helpful and providing alternatives, if you're really set on altering existing income support programs, here's something you could do that would be beneficial (and far easier to pull off):
In short, you should read the piece. Or not. I'm not your boss.
Unless I am your boss, in which case... you know what, you can still do what you like.
https://mikepmoffatt.medium.com/basic-income-what-federal-income-supports-could-be-folded-into-one-caa7eb0fde6c
Unless I am your boss, in which case... you know what, you can still do what you like.
https://mikepmoffatt.medium.com/basic-income-what-federal-income-supports-could-be-folded-into-one-caa7eb0fde6c
