Max Tallberg
Basic income is a political idea that could be a modern solution to the challenges of the global world. This form of income is an amount of money paid regularly to finance a person’s livelihood. A basic income is also a subjective, indivisible right of every individual and it is paid to all citizens. The only requirement relating to basic income would be for the recipient to pay their tax in the country which granted it.
How, then, would basic income affect people’s lives? First of all, basic income would be an effective way of tackling inequalities, as it would guarantee that everyone would be able to meet their living costs, that everyone would be able to meet their basic needs and that a small part of the amount would still remain afterwards. It is also clear that the security brought by basic income would enable citizens to accept any job and that the amount of basic income would not be affected by the work received. It would therefore remove the so-called welfare trap, in which the person concerned does not accept a job, since the compensation is lower than the unemployment benefit. Accepting a job in such a situation would result in losing benefits and consequently the person’s financial situation would worsen. Direct basic income would always encourage people to accept work.
Basic income would make it possible to ensure that all citizens survive and at the same time feel valued and noticed. This would also enable the poor to benefit from the economic success of the state, and this would be a way of supporting poorly performing rural municipalities, as it would be easier for people to stay in their birthplace if they so wished. Additionally, basic income would lessen racial prejudices: all people, regardless of their skin colour, would be guaranteed the same amount of benefit, and if this form of support were also paid to children, they would be entitled to it, regardless of their parents’ financial situation.
Basic income would also, in all likelihood, promote private entrepreneurship. This would considerably benefit society through higher tax revenues alone. At the same time, new companies would employ a large number of people. The security provided by basic income would make it easier to implement revolutionary, visionary business ideas and would guarantee families a means of coping even when the country’s economy is in a downturn, so that the economic recessions could be better survived. In addition, basic income would replace many existing forms of benefit, which would have an impact on its net effect.
The modern world is changing so rapidly that many people have to train for a new profession, possibly more than once in their lives. Basic income would also provide security in this respect, as the livelihood would be secured if the citizen were to be trained for a new job. If, for example, a person decided to move entirely into the volunteering sector which they felt was important, basic income would also make this possible. If, on the other hand, working life is found to be too hectic and stressful—and the risk of burnout is evident—the employee could use the basic income to take a long-awaited period of leave. Also, taking breaks from work would not ruin an otherwise great resume—as they would be much more common in the world of basic income.
The security brought by basic income could also lead to more frequent part-time work or to more work-based activities. Knowing that in working life there will be increased job mobility in the future, basic income would help to employ people in this respect too. Basic income would certainly also have a good impact on the quality of life of individuals, especially when they would not have to worry unnecessarily about, for example, changing careers.
Basic income would have an impact on the labour market, so that heavy and low-paid jobs would be paid more. The bargaining position of the jobseeker would be strengthened by the basic income: if miserable work was not paid enough, the person could decline the work they considered to be bad. Consequently, the pay for unpleasant, heavy tasks is likely to be increased.
It should also be considered that basic income reduces crime. A prisoner would lose their right to this income, so criminals and gang members would perhaps consider more carefully whether they would like to continue on their chosen path of criminality. Basic income could anyway support the economy of poor regions, where crime and gang violence are often a major problem. A regularly paid sum of money would encourage people to stay on the straight and narrow and give them the opportunity to plan ahead in a new way.
Basic income would also promote gender equality. This would happen because domestic work, which is important and productive, would provide a wage for a person in the form of basic income. On average, women earn less than men anyway, and for this reason, to a considerable extent, they still stay at home more often than men to look after their children. This in turn will lead to a further widening of gender inequality. At the same time, basic income would make it possible for a woman not to be dependent on her husband’s income. If the family and the relationship are unhappy, it would also be easier for a woman to organise her life differently. Therefore, basic income would quite probably help women more than men.
It is also important that basic income combines universality, that is, that it is actually received unconditionally by all citizens, with the policy that nothing needs to be done for it. Together, these two elements guarantee freedom and create alternatives for those who need them most. When also the most vulnerable in society are guaranteed basic income, they have better chances to survive and therefore can be of benefit to society. At the same time, young people would be able to take on traineeships for which there is little or no pay and would thus be able to join the labour market. Without such work experience, it often can be difficult to find a good job. A basic income would make this possible for everyone, including those who do not have wealthy parents to financially support them when they are not yet financially independent.
At the same time, in the broader picture basic income would present a solution to the ever-increasing automation of labour, which is manifested in the way that robots are very likely to take up an increasing part of ordinary people’s work in the future. It is estimated that as a result of automation, almost half of the jobs in the United States will disappear in the future.
We see therefore, that basic income would in many ways have a beneficial effect on society and on the life of the individual. If the policy objective is the possibility of a good life, then basic income would be the perfect solution. With the help of basic income, a person would be truly free to choose how to use their time, without first having to amass significant wealth. This would allow people to pursue their dreams or decide to do a job that is meaningful to them. People would also be motivated internally when they would be able to choose the job that they want. Labour productivity could be higher when people are doing work that they themselves feel is valuable. In the world of basic income, a person would take responsibility for their own life—my model would facilitate this—as a condition of and means to creating a good life for themselves. People should be encouraged to make their lives a life like their own, meaningful, and valuable. A basic income would make this possible.
Works cited:
Bregman, Rutger (2018). Ilmaista rahaa kaikille ja muita ideoita, jotka pelastavat maailman. (Free money for everyone and other ideas that will save the world.) Atena, Jyväskylä.
Lowrey, Annie (2018). Give People Money: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World. Broadway Books, New York.
Tallberg, Max (2022). A Citizen of a New Time: A Vision of a Better World.
www.avisionofabetterworld.net
Van Parijs, Philippe & Vanderborgth, Yannick (2019). Basic Income, A Radical Proposal for a Free Society and a Sane Economy. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
