Simulations of Canadian UBI programs could lead to a 5-year cumulative increase of $46 billion in government revenue and $178 billion in GDP without initial debt funding, or as much as $109 billion in government revenue and $419 billion in GDP if the program is initially 50% funded by government debt (this debt funding would be reduced over time)
As a health economist, you become aware very quickly that we use the healthcare system to treat the consequences of poverty, and we do it in an inefficient and expensive way,” she says. “We wait until people live horrible lives for many years, get sick as a consequence, and then we go in all guns blazing to make things better.”
After several years of painstaking work, she was finally able to publish the results, many of which were eye-opening. In particular, Forget was struck by the improvements in health outcomes over the four years. There was an 8.5% decline in hospitalisations – primarily because there were fewer alcohol-related accidents and hospitalisations due to mental health issues – and a reduction in visits to family physicians.
That’s a bad take, there will always be people who will say we can never afford it. The real question should be ‘can we afford not to’ as people live and die in miserable conditions.
Well jeez. I wasn’t saying I’m against it. I’d love to see it happen.
I don’t know of any success stories of it working at scale. I mean, countries using it at scale. Not cities or provinces. I was a part of the short lived pilot program in Ontario before it was axed. Axing it completely fucked me over. It worked. It worked great. I was about to invest in starting a business.
But you know exactly what the opposition will say, right? “How can we afford it?”. Even Trudeau said he saw no path to it. So really, I was just echoing what was already said, sure - but if it keeps getting cancelled then the public will have a sour taste.
Yes, because ultimately it is nothing more than a redistribution of wealth from the wealthy back to the poor and working class, and it’s the people on the bottom of the income ladder that actually drive the economy – especially the local economies – instead of just hoarding wealth.
Can we afford it right now is the question. I’m not against it by any means, though.
Yes. These programs literally produce more money than they consume. The effects of poverty are more expensive than fighting poverty.
Is there research you can provide to back that up?
Again, I’m all for it. But being devil’s advocate here, I just want some evidence.
Simulations of Canadian UBI programs could lead to a 5-year cumulative increase of $46 billion in government revenue and $178 billion in GDP without initial debt funding, or as much as $109 billion in government revenue and $419 billion in GDP if the program is initially 50% funded by government debt (this debt funding would be reduced over time)
https://www.cancea.ca/index.php/2021/02/05/potential-economic-impacts-and-reach-of-basic-income-programs/
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200624-canadas-forgotten-universal-basic-income-experiment
That’s a bad take, there will always be people who will say we can never afford it. The real question should be ‘can we afford not to’ as people live and die in miserable conditions.
Well jeez. I wasn’t saying I’m against it. I’d love to see it happen.
I don’t know of any success stories of it working at scale. I mean, countries using it at scale. Not cities or provinces. I was a part of the short lived pilot program in Ontario before it was axed. Axing it completely fucked me over. It worked. It worked great. I was about to invest in starting a business.
But you know exactly what the opposition will say, right? “How can we afford it?”. Even Trudeau said he saw no path to it. So really, I was just echoing what was already said, sure - but if it keeps getting cancelled then the public will have a sour taste.
Yes, because ultimately it is nothing more than a redistribution of wealth from the wealthy back to the poor and working class, and it’s the people on the bottom of the income ladder that actually drive the economy – especially the local economies – instead of just hoarding wealth.
🤡 gotta save all our taxes to subsidize oil and gas!