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Can Older Citizens Lead the Way to a Universal Basic Income?

In: Basic Income in Australia and New Zealand

Author

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  • Susan St John

Abstract

The basic income idea has many admirers but few ask the practical question of how we get from where we are to an ultimate basic income “Nirvana.” A big bang approach, such as suggested by Morgan and Guthrie in The Big Kahuna (2011), is unlikely to be politically acceptable. People are nervous about large shifts from one paradigm to another. The essential trade-off is that a level of basic income for all that removes poverty would be very expensive. Moreover, the taxes necessary to fund it would entail high marginal rates and would have an impact on behaviour, for example, the willingness to earn extra income. Thus, while the idea of a basic income is intellectually appealing, unless we can realistically show how to get there, it will remain in the textbooks.

Suggested Citation

  • Susan St John, 2016. "Can Older Citizens Lead the Way to a Universal Basic Income?," Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee, in: Jennifer Mays & Greg Marston & John Tomlinson (ed.), Basic Income in Australia and New Zealand, chapter 0, pages 95-114, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:etbchp:978-1-137-53532-0_5
    DOI: 10.1057/9781137535320_5
    as

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