Basic Income Guarantee: A Surprisingly Cost-Effective Method for Eliminating Poverty

15th July 2016

By Carolanne Wright

Contributing writer for Wake Up World

Between 1974 and 1979, a radical experiment was taking place in a small Manitoba city that has all but been forgotten. Yet the result of the Canadian program is nothing short of astonishing: for those five years, poverty was utterly eradicated. The secret? Providing a basic annual income for everyone — no strings attached.

What might sound like a capitalist’s nightmare — People wouldn’t work… They would become lazy and a burden on society… The free-market would be destroyed! — turned out to be an incredible success without issue. But when a Conservative government came to power provincially in 1977, and 1979 federally, the program was dismantled and seemingly lost to the archives of societal experiments — until now.

History of the basic income

The idea of a basic income has its roots as far back as the 15th century. Thomas More (1478-1535) points out in his book Utopiathat a minimum income guarantee by the government would be a much more efficient way of deterring theft than sentencing thieves to death. He writes: “No penalty on earth will stop people from stealing, if it is their only way of getting food. It would be far more to the point to provide everyone with some means of livelihood.”

More’s close friend and fellow humanist, Johannes Ludovicus Vives (1492-1540) took the idea a step further by working out a detailed scheme for it, supported by solid theological and pragmatic arguments.

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Further reading from Carolanne Wright:

• Don’t Ask, Just Plant — Taking Back Our Food Sovereignty with Guerrilla Gardening
• Seed Bombs: A Creative (and Fun) Mission to Save the Bees and Butterflies
• Autistic Boy with Higher IQ Than Einstein Discovers Gift After Removal from State-Run Therapy
• Dr Sebi: The Man Who Cures Aids, Cancer, Diabetes and More
• Big Pharma and Organized Crime — They are More Similar Than You May Think
• Emotional Energetic Healing: The Future of Medicine is Here
• The Greenhouse of the Future: Grow Your Own Food Year-Round With This Revolutionary System
• CDC Concealed Link Between Thimerosal and Autism for Over a Decade, Forced to Release Incriminating Documents

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