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blogcutterOn the horns of a pandemic, are we moving from Naomi Klein's concept of "disaster capitalism" to one of "disaster socialism"? That's what J.P. Hornick suggests in an article on the Our Times site:
https://ourtimes.ca/article/collective-good-over-private-profit
If you lean to the far right of the political spectrum, you may feel that social programs should be targeted only to those in the direst need. Perhaps you subscribe to the notion of "deserving poor" versus "undeserving poor".
Centrists may view social programs as a safety net that should be available to any people who fall on hard times, but see the ultimate goal as getting these people into paid employment, independence and self-sufficiency.
Another view is that it's strictly a matter of individual choice. Every human being should have a certain minimum standard of living. Beyond that, it's up to us to decide what gives our lives meaning, whether that's starting our own business, working for others in paid or unpaid employment, creating art, music or literature, pursuing life-long learning opportunities or whatever.
The idea of a guaranteed annual income or universal basic income is certainly not new. But it is gaining traction at a time when we ALL have seen our lives turned upside down. People who never thought they would need a "handout" or even a hand up suddenly realize that emergencies like Covid 19 do not bypass the rich or the middle class, although they certainly are far more brutal for those who were already disadvantaged.
The concept cuts across partisan political lines, although the different parties may suggest implementing it in different ways. Below is a 2016 paper by David Macdonald of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a progressive think tank probably best known for its Alternative Budget.
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2016/10/Policymakers_Guide_to_Basic_Income.pdf
Then in 2018, Walrus magazine published an article on it, referencing an experiment in 1970s Manitoba:
https://thewalrus.ca/does-a-guaranteed-annual-income-actually-work/
But it's certainly not only left-leaning commentators who favour a basic income. Conservative Senator Hugh Segal recently wrote a book called Boot Straps Need Boots in which he expands and expounds on his vision of a guaranteed income. He was interviewed about a month ago on CBC radio:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-for-march-29-2020-1.5509908/amidst-a-global-pandemic-hugh-segal-s-call-for-a-guaranteed-annual-income-is-even-more-timely-1.5509938
I do think that a guaranteed basic income can be an important hallmark of a progressive society. But I'd like to see something more than just throwing money at the problem.
When I started working for the federal public service back in the 1970s, I considered my salary to be fairly decent, even though I was in a female-dominated group which didn't fully achieve pay equity until 2000. But we didn't have a lot in the way of benefits. The employer paid half of our provincial health premium. But there was no supplemental health care plan or prescription drug coverage or dental plan. We did get maternity leave but we were taken off the payroll while on leave and could only get 15 weeks of unemployment insurance after a 2-week wait. And we had to be back at work by the time the baby was six months old, or the job would not still be waiting for us.
Things have progressed since then. But given that so many people now are in precarious work situations - part-time or occasional work, home-based businesses, the gig economy - I think we need portable benefits packages that are not specific to a particular employer. The idea of a job for life is largely a thing of the past.
We all need health care and dental care. We all need to be protected in the event that our employer goes bankrupt. We all need various forms of insurance in case some costly unforeseen catastrophe befalls us.
The Canadian Emergency Response Benefit is very necessary. It's already helping some people who have had their livelihoods disrupted by Covid 19. But many more find themselves falling through the cracks. It's fighting fires when perhaps it would have been better to take sensible precautions in the first place.
A basic income could be part of this sensible precautionary framework. But it's not the only element we need.
https://ourtimes.ca/article/collective-good-over-private-profit
If you lean to the far right of the political spectrum, you may feel that social programs should be targeted only to those in the direst need. Perhaps you subscribe to the notion of "deserving poor" versus "undeserving poor".
Centrists may view social programs as a safety net that should be available to any people who fall on hard times, but see the ultimate goal as getting these people into paid employment, independence and self-sufficiency.
Another view is that it's strictly a matter of individual choice. Every human being should have a certain minimum standard of living. Beyond that, it's up to us to decide what gives our lives meaning, whether that's starting our own business, working for others in paid or unpaid employment, creating art, music or literature, pursuing life-long learning opportunities or whatever.
The idea of a guaranteed annual income or universal basic income is certainly not new. But it is gaining traction at a time when we ALL have seen our lives turned upside down. People who never thought they would need a "handout" or even a hand up suddenly realize that emergencies like Covid 19 do not bypass the rich or the middle class, although they certainly are far more brutal for those who were already disadvantaged.
The concept cuts across partisan political lines, although the different parties may suggest implementing it in different ways. Below is a 2016 paper by David Macdonald of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a progressive think tank probably best known for its Alternative Budget.
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2016/10/Policymakers_Guide_to_Basic_Income.pdf
Then in 2018, Walrus magazine published an article on it, referencing an experiment in 1970s Manitoba:
https://thewalrus.ca/does-a-guaranteed-annual-income-actually-work/
But it's certainly not only left-leaning commentators who favour a basic income. Conservative Senator Hugh Segal recently wrote a book called Boot Straps Need Boots in which he expands and expounds on his vision of a guaranteed income. He was interviewed about a month ago on CBC radio:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-for-march-29-2020-1.5509908/amidst-a-global-pandemic-hugh-segal-s-call-for-a-guaranteed-annual-income-is-even-more-timely-1.5509938
I do think that a guaranteed basic income can be an important hallmark of a progressive society. But I'd like to see something more than just throwing money at the problem.
When I started working for the federal public service back in the 1970s, I considered my salary to be fairly decent, even though I was in a female-dominated group which didn't fully achieve pay equity until 2000. But we didn't have a lot in the way of benefits. The employer paid half of our provincial health premium. But there was no supplemental health care plan or prescription drug coverage or dental plan. We did get maternity leave but we were taken off the payroll while on leave and could only get 15 weeks of unemployment insurance after a 2-week wait. And we had to be back at work by the time the baby was six months old, or the job would not still be waiting for us.
Things have progressed since then. But given that so many people now are in precarious work situations - part-time or occasional work, home-based businesses, the gig economy - I think we need portable benefits packages that are not specific to a particular employer. The idea of a job for life is largely a thing of the past.
We all need health care and dental care. We all need to be protected in the event that our employer goes bankrupt. We all need various forms of insurance in case some costly unforeseen catastrophe befalls us.
The Canadian Emergency Response Benefit is very necessary. It's already helping some people who have had their livelihoods disrupted by Covid 19. But many more find themselves falling through the cracks. It's fighting fires when perhaps it would have been better to take sensible precautions in the first place.
A basic income could be part of this sensible precautionary framework. But it's not the only element we need.
