A New Start

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Amongst the many different ideas, plans and proposals put forward by political parties and organisations, Universal Basic Income (Citizens’ Wage) has been coming up increasingly often. But what is it?

Put in its simplest terms, it means that, instead of most benefits currently available, every adult receives the same amount, regardless of their status. Sounds too simple? It is. There are a lot of different options, restrictions, and conditions which are likely to apply. I could write a very long article with lots of facts and figures, but that might be quite boring, and I think it is far more important to firstly explain why I think UBI is a good idea. (If enough people are interested, I will happily write another article sharing the information I have gathered about the ins and outs of who gets what, how and when)

Universal Basic Income is intended to be set at an amount which would cover basic, essential, life expenses. From models currenty used elsewhere, this would be anything between £500-1500 per month, depending on what it does and doesn’t cover. As there is no means testing, there would be less forms to fill in, and probably no interviews, assessments, etc.

Beyond that basic income, everyone makes their own life choices depending on what sort of life/work balance they want. As there is no loss of benefits if an unemployed person finds work, regardless of how few hours, or how little pay is received, people will always be better off in work.

With UBI, all earnings would be taxed, and possibly at a significantly higher rate than they are now. But you will need to work if you want to afford luxuries such as cars, holidays, and bigger mortgages. People on much higher salaries might feel that they would be unfairly penalised, but the point of UBI is to create a more equal society, with less poverty, resources more evenly shared, and people having more freedom to make different life choices. It is also likely that many employers, especially larger companies, would offer staff different incentives instead of higher salaries. This could mean a scheme where you can choose things like extra holidays, pension contributions, gym memberships, dental/eye care schemes, travel passes or bicycle purchases, or additional training/education. I’m sure you can think of other possibilities too. From the employers’ perspective, happier staff, with better life/work balance, are more productive, and less likely to leave.

UBI models acknowledge that there is a small minority of people who don’t want to work, and removes the need to spend lots of resources on (often pointless) administration, interviews, assessments, compulsory courses, etc. In the case of those who can’t work through illness, disability, etc, the most likely option is that they would receive an additional payment. Those in residential care would most likely have their care paid for and receive a small allowance. This would be fairly similar to how things work out now, but it would take pressure off of some families when they have to make difficult decisions about care and support.

Another, often overlooked, positive with UBI is that it would offer financial freedom to those who might otherwise struggle to gain it, such as those in all types of abusive relationships. UBI is paid to each individual, not to households, so even if an abusive partner has taken control of bank accounts, this can be changed as soon as the partner chooses to make that break. It would also increase choices for young care-leavers, who often have less support and lower life outcomes.

It is also accepted that, whilst UBI will offer some the freedom to go off on their own, it is far more likely that many more would choose to pool resources, more shared tenancies, etc, to make incomes go further and offer more freedom. This is seen as a positive in terms of socialising, mental health, etc.

For the majority of people, what UBI offers is an opportunity to assess priorities, and make life changes accordingly. Some people might decide to reduce the hours they work, which would potential lead to the creation of more part-time jobs, giving other people greater choice. Parents could decide to take longer breaks after the birth of a child, or to work less hours while their children are younger. People may decide to take career breaks to retrain, to work less hours in order to study, volunteer, or pursue an interest or hobby. There are many seasonal industries and jobs, so people could choose to work long hours for part of the year, then enjoy a few months catching up on family, travel, studies, etc. I’m sure there are some reading this who are thinking ‘I could already do that’, but for most people these choices are just not financially viable – UBI makes these, and so many other options, a real possibility.

Perhaps the key question now is, how and when would such a drastic change be implemented? In the UK, Brexit means that a lot of things are going to have to change, so this would seem like an ideal time to consider it. However, given the current Westminster government’s approach to welfare, etc. it seems highly unlikely to be on their list of possibilities. They have previously rejected the SNP’s calls for such a scheme.

By contrast, if Scotland votes to become independent, there will need to be new tax and benefits systems anyway, so this would be an ideal opportunity to consider such a radical change. This would be one possible way to create the fairer, more equal society that so many desire.

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4 thoughts on “A New Start”

  1. Thanks Betty for your clear explanation, there could be many good outcomes, in so many areas with this idea.

    1. Thanks Clare. This is why I wanted to focus on the why, rather than the how. I hope that people who read it can see how it might work in their particular circumstances, and I suspect that for the majority it would be a positive thing.

  2. Many thanks for this Betty. I was aware of the existence of proposals for a Universal Basic Income but didn’t know much beyond that or, to be honest, give it much thought.

    Your article has now let me start that thought-process!

    At the moment there is the proverbial snowball’s chance of a Citizen’s Wage; yet another reason for us being able to take decisions ourselves.

  3. Thanks, Angus. It was something that seemed to be mentioned more and more, and I didn’t know anything about it, so I did a bit of digging and decided that I really like the idea. Beyond UBI, I hope this article might also encourage readers to think of the other things that could be changed in an independent Scotland. One of the things that I find most appealing about the possibility of independence is the fact that we can get rid of some of the policies and systems that were introduced decades (or more) ago, and introduce ones that are more relevant to the 21st Century.

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