Mincome - Guaranteed Minimum Income - Is This The Solution?

From Vice Magazine's Motherboard: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-mincome-experiment-dauphin

  Quote

Between 1974 and 1979, the Canadian government tested the idea of a basic income guarantee (BIG) across an entire town, giving people enough money to survive in a way that no other place in North America has before or since. For those four years—until the project was cancelled and its findings packed away—the town's poorest residents were given monthly checks that supplemented what modest earnings they had and rewarded them for working more. And for that time, it seemed that the effects of poverty began to melt away. Doctor and hospital visits declined, mental health appeared to improve, and more teenagers completed high school.

We have a minimum wage here (SMIG, ~1450€/month gross) and a guaranteed minimum income for unemployed people (RSA, around 500€/month). There are polemics saying that some people are abusively profiting from the latter, which certainly is true, but it sure is better than nothing.

SMIG doesn't apply for interns though, since we're "learning stuff" lol

Brazil does/did something similar in the slums called Bolsa Familia (?) where they gave a minimum income to families in the favelas as long as their kids went to school and got vaxx'd. The key was that it came with strings attached so it encouraged behaviour that benefited the community - also it gave enough to help people buy essential items, but not enough to discourage work. So it's like a "help them to help themselves" kind of scheme - and apparently it helped to cut down on a big swath of social and health issues. Great idea, but imo schemes like this are probably best administered on a local/city basis as opposed to national programmes - helps to keep them more accountable etc y'know

poor people should stay poor and stop asking for free money. it's their own fault anyway for not working hard enough like the rest of us.

I would be for basic income to everyone. It's been bounced around here among the left here, but nothing conclusive. It's all about neoliberalism with our current government. Having not to worry about feeding yourself and paying rent on a daily basis does a lot to help the mental well-being of a person. It would probably cut down on a lot of the bureaucracy that exists now with all the various social welfare options that are available, that pretty much does the same thing.

  On 2/5/2015 at 5:38 PM, azatoth said:

Having not to worry about feeding yourself and paying rent on a daily basis does a lot to help the mental well-being of a person.

this

  On 2/5/2015 at 11:37 PM, Berk said:

 

  On 2/5/2015 at 5:38 PM, azatoth said:

Having not to worry about feeding yourself and paying rent on a daily basis does a lot to help the mental well-being of a person.

this

 

+10

  On 2/5/2015 at 11:41 PM, GRVGLTCHR said:

 

  On 2/5/2015 at 11:37 PM, Berk said:

 

  On 2/5/2015 at 5:38 PM, azatoth said:

Having not to worry about feeding yourself and paying rent on a daily basis does a lot to help the mental well-being of a person.

 

this

+10

I totally agree - I think it would also close the disparity between the rich and the poor.

Imagine if a family of 4 could get a stipend equal to the poverty line in the US (http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/14poverty.cfm), which is 23,850 USD for the 48 states - anyone even working a minimum wage job would have a decent living (along with mandatory health care, which would come out of that stipend), and reduce health care costs by ensuring people have access to medical care and wellness visits.

Obviously, there would have to be some scale by which the amount you get would reduce based on your family household income, so the people who are well off don't unfairly benefit from the program.