Dear Editor:
Basic income is a policy that could save billions in taxpayer money, reduce poverty, boost our local economy, and help us handle widespread job automation.
Instead of spending billions to patch up the problems caused by poverty – such as higher healthcare and policing costs – basic income invests directly in people’s ability to meet their basic needs. A guaranteed income program could cost three to five per cent of total government spending, less than what we’re already spending on poverty.
When people have a reliable income, they spend more at local businesses. The Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis estimated that a national basic income could grow our economy by $80 nillion per year and create 600,000 full-time equivalent jobs, while lifting millions out of poverty.
Not only do progressive policymakers champion basic income, but prominent conservatives – such as former Canadian Senator Hugh Segal – have championed similar ideas for years. Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman proposed a negative income tax as an efficient way to tackle poverty.
Business leaders support basic income. They see first-hand the impact of automation on jobs and wages, while also understanding how basic income could foster entrepreneurship. Over 180 Canadian CEOs and business leaders representing over $1.5 billion in annual revenues have signed a letter supporting basic income.
With AI and automation already changing the job market, a basic income provides a safety net, giving workers room to train for new roles or start their own ventures. Many tech leaders, like Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Tobi Lutke (Shopify), support basic income because they recognize how quickly jobs are evolving.
People who get basic income continue to work. The PBO estimated that a guaranteed basic income would have a very low impact on hours worked – 0.6% or basically “a few hours per year”. During the Ontario Basic Income Pilot, one third of those who were working found higher paying work. In fact, basic income helps people secure stable employment, go back to school to retrain, and start new businesses.
Basic income isn’t about “handouts.” It’s about making our economy more efficient, stable and future-ready.
Barbara Schumacher,
Heidelberg