The core technologies involved in AI are moving at breakneck speed
When we think about the next two decades, two existential questions dominate the conversation among futurists and foresight researchers. The first is whether we can prevent the potentially devastating impacts of climate change. The second is what the relationship between technology, humans, and money might look like after 20 years of advancements in artificial intelligence…
And what we can do instead
In a country as rich as Canada, no one should have to go cold or hungry. But is universal basic income the answer? Income assistance and other programs provide for almost all of the poorest among us, although some always slip between the cracks. No one would describe the level of support as generous, nor…
What we need are carefully targeted programs specifically aimed at dealing with the issues that keeps people in poverty
In a country as rich as Canada, no one should have to be hungry or homeless. We do have people who can’t provide for themselves and we rely on the government to provide a floor below which Canadians can’t fall. We have to remember that this support comes from us, the taxpayers, so we need…
Should we continue to offer direct financial relief to citizens even beyond the pandemic?
Modern monetary theory (MMT) now plays a role in your life, whether you know it or not. The theory argues that a nation can never truly run out of money, and it advocates quantitative easing to solve a nation’s debt and unemployment problems. Historically, quantitative easing and currency devaluation have been used as last-resort options…
Finland acknowledged its two-year experiment a total failure
The COVID-19 crisis has brought back to the forefront the idea of a universal basic income or guaranteed annual income. It’s an idea that should be abandoned. In response to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 restrictions, the Canadian government has implemented the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). Eligible people receive $2,000 for a…
Richard Nixon and Pat Moynihan had a plan to end poverty. In the end, it was far too complicated, and languished and died
Whether it’s called a guaranteed annual income or a universal basic income, this currently fashionable idea isn’t new. And the fact that it hasn’t happened yet is a tipoff to the associated complexities. One of the earliest proponents was an American right-winger. In 1962’s Capitalism and Freedom, libertarian economist Milton Friedman proposed what he called…
The need for income security among middle-class Canadians is accelerating as the labour market changes
In Canadian policy circles, basic income has come to mean a stipend paid to families or individuals without the many conditions and rules that govern existing income assistance programs. The amount received is gradually reduced as income from other sources increases. However, basic income is not just about welfare reform. A basic income is most…
The proportion of households below the LICO has been falling for two decades and is now at its lowest level ever at 7.8%
Donald Trump isn't the only American president to say dumb things. Lyndon Johnson, expressing his concern for the well-being of the American people, said that he thought it was a shame that half the U.S. population lived at a below-average income. As anyone who ever stayed awake in math class knows, an average is a…
The abrupt cancellation of Ontario's basic income project has broad impact on international research, as well as devastating participants
I recently participated in a panel in Finland with representatives of basic income experiments from Finland, the Netherlands, India and Scotland. My report on the cancellation of Ontario’s Basic Income Pilot project was received with stunned disbelief. On July 31, three months after enrolment was complete and before the first annual follow-up survey could be…
An open letter to Premier Doug Ford and Minister Lisa MacLeod concerning the cancellation of the Ontario basic income pilot
Dear Premier Doug Ford and Children, Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod, We, collectively, represent the principal investigators, research teams and stakeholder groups behind several distinct basic income experiments underway in Finland, Scotland, the Netherlands, the United States, Spain, Kenya and India. We profoundly regret that you chose to cancel the Ontario Basic Income…