RE: Universal Basic Income – A cure for poverty?
This is also an issue here. As of May, a minimum wage is being introduced for everyone other than agricultural and domestic workers (don't ask). Having been an employer, at various times in my career, I know that this is going to have a serious knock-on effect. Not to mention all the hoops one has to go through to hire and fire, here. That's another debate.
I have mixed feelings about this - which in South Africa, is called the Basic Income Grant. It's been bandied about for years. Not implemented, though. Already we have a huge number of folk on social grants: child support, disability and old age: 17,5 million in October 2017 with around 14,5 registered taxpayers. Do the maths. Last December our erstwhile president announced free higher for first year students and TVET. With effect from January 2018. And then people wonder why the VAT rate has just been put up by 1%. I could go on....
Returning to social grants: research has shown (SALDRU at UCT and the HSRC) that these grants have made an impact on poverty levels, and in the rural areas where we still see much migration of men, the women survive on them and support the children and families.
As a taxpayer with my own challenges, but with a social conscience, I find myself really conflicted about all of this. I understand the rationale, but when the tax base is so small, the government finds other ways to increas revenue, so it's no wonder that there is the real potential for a tax rebellion here. Oh, and that excludes the plundering that took place under Jacob Zuma, with the liberal assistance of his friends, the Gupta family.
PS I wasn't going to be here today, but I couldn't resist after I saw this post last evening. Now, I am going to turn into The Cook @ The Sandbag House!
I am delighted that I provoked you into a response! I have to say that I feel a whole lot better about being on here now. I am playing with fire on two or three blogs - big reps abounding! - but I am really enjoying it. I may well get burned, but it's a risk I have to take. I was stagnating here.
Yes, this whole thing, as lovely as it sounds - is fraught with problems. The cost is the main one. I did some "back of the fag packet" maths last night and I reckon it would cost about €40bn to give all adults in Ireland a €10k UBI, and it really depends on how you view that amount. On one hand, a footballer (Neymar) signed for a French football club last year, and the transfer fee and subsequent wages totals about €500m, or 1/80 of what it would cost to implement UBI in Ireland.
But of course, money doesn't work like that. Another (and far more salient) way of looking at it is that the annual budget to run Ireland is about €65bn. How on earth would they find an additional €40bn (actually quite a bit less if you remove pensions and welfare) to fund this?
It can only come from the rich, and I think that they might have a thing or two to say about that.
It would be a huge leap to get here.
SAs problems are many, I'm sure, and I am certain that any given country would have similar (if distinctly different) issues. I fear this is little more than a nice idea.