Heavy! Canada's universal basic income has the latest trend: the bill is being hotly discussed in the Canadian Senate and Parliament!
Since Canada began to send money to people during the epidemic, many people have called for the perpetuation of epidemic benefits and the development of a universal basic income policy (Universal Basic Income =UBI).
In February 2021, Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz submitted a private bill: Bill C-273, calling on the Federal Treasurer to study the basic income model and develop a national strategy to assess how the plan could be implemented in Canada.
In December of the same year, Senator Kim Pate also introduced Bill S-233, and NDP lawmaker Leah Gazan introduced a similar Bill C-223 private bill.
Both MPs' bill aims to establish a guaranteed basic income framework for Canadians over the age of 17.
While bills for Senate and private lawmakers rarely succeed, with the CERB precedent, politicians are debating the feasibility of creating a standard living wage for Canadians.
A report released by parliamentary budget officers (PBOOs) in April 2021 estimated that taxpayers would be spent $87.6 billion over the 2022-23 period if a basic income plan were implemented.
At the same time, PBO conducted an analysis based on parameters set in a basic income pilot program conducted in Ontario in 2017 to assess the decline in poverty rates that the universal basic income program will bring.
Ontario launched a basic income pilot program in 2017, when 4,000 applicants were selected and was originally planned for three years, during which time they received a monthly basic income.
However, less than a year after the project was implemented, it was canceled by the newly elected conservative government of Doug Ford...
But with the only data available, ontario's poverty rate has indeed declined.
"In 2018, the program ensured participants received 75 percent of the minimum income standard, estimated at $16,989 for singles and $24,027 for couples," the PBO report said. ”
"People with disabilities receive an additional $6,000 per year; when a person gains more employment income, then the Guaranteed basic income (GBI) that he receives is deducted $0.5 per $1 cadence of work income."
According to a February 2021 Appeals Board report by Statistics Canada, about 3.7 million Canadians live below the poverty line, or 10.1 per cent of canada's population.
The PBO's summary of the report on basic income notes that the basic income program can "significantly reduce poverty in Canada."
The Market Basket Measure =MBM suggests that basic income programs will reduce poverty by nearly half by 2022.
Now that the poverty rate can be drastically reduced, what do Canadian political parties think about the project?
Both the Greens and the NDP strongly support the establishment of a universal basic income program;
The Liberal Party has not yet committed, but members of the party strongly support the project;
The Conservative Party, the group Québécois and the Canadian People's Party are less supportive of this.
In addition, a report by the Fraser Institute, a well-known research institute in Canada, also pointed out that the implementation of the universal basic income plan in Canada is likely to lead to a substantial increase in taxes in this "country of ten thousand taxes"...
In September 2021, the Fraser Institute released a report on universal basic income, analyzing how $464.5 billion would be spent per year if CERB-like benefits (i.e., 2,000 knives per month) were offered to all working Canadians (ages 18-64);
While Canada's entire federal budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year is only 362.9 billion yuan, if the universal basic income plan is implemented, then the federal project expenditure will reach 132% of the 2019-20 level, and the debt will increase significantly.
Another option proposed by the PBO — to pay a basic income like old-age pension — also has hidden dangers. Although the amount paid will be gradually reduced according to the level of growth of the other income of the person concerned, which can greatly reduce the burden on the government, this scheme may lead to many people working less hours in order to receive basic income.
The Fraser Institute report concludes: "Canadians should be aware of the challenges and huge costs of any universal basic income program that will lead to more debt or a series of tax increases." ”
It can be seen that the benefits of the basic plan for the whole people are there, but at the same time the cost is also huge... What do you think about that?