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Exploring the Concept of Basic Income

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Selections from the Table Talk of Martin... (by King, Martin Luther, Jr., Dr.)
The political Works of Thomas Paine (by Thomas Paine)
Utopia (by More, Thomas, Sir, Saint, 1478-1535)
Richard Nixon a Political and Personal P... (by Earl Mazo)
The Utopia of Sir Thomas More: In Latin ... (by Thomas More)

In the recent decade, salaries that lag behind the cost of living increases and inflation make paying for necessities even more challenging than ever.

A 2017 Global Salary Forecast by management consulting firm Korn Ferry Hay Group predicts a 3 percent salary increase in the U.S. Adjusted for 1.1 percent inflation, the real wage increase is only 1.9 percent. Canadian salaries are forecast to rise by 2.5 percent, but with inflation, real growth stands at 0.9 percent. In the UK, predicted raises will remain flat at 2.5 percent. Adjusted for inflation, real wages are to increase by 1.9 percent.

Technology plays a role in economic challenges. Research firm Forrester predicts that automation will create nearly 15 million new jobs in America by 2025, but while simultaneously wiping out nearly 25 million positions.

In an effort to stave off a downward spiral in living standards, several countries are exploring the concept of universal basic income. It is defined as a form of social security in which all citizens or residents of a country receive a regular, unconditional (paid without a requirement to work or to demonstrate willingness-to-work) sum of money. The money comes from the government or some other public institution.

American entrepreneurs Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook support, the concept. Both have expressed concerned about technology’s impact on traditional models of employment.

The government of Finland is experimenting with a two-year study in which 2,000 unemployed people between the ages of 25 and 58 receive a basic income. Earlier in 2017, the City Council of Glasgow announced that it would begin research on a basic income pilot study. In Oakland, California, another pilot program recently began.

Despite newly popular discussion of the possibilities and outcomes of programs such as these, the concept of a universal income has been around since the sixteenth century. A recent Fortune.com article highlighted some visionaries such as Thomas More, an English lawyer and statesman who served as a counselor to Henry VIII. In his book The Utopia of Sir Thomas More, More advocated using basic income to share the wealth that was generated as public lands passed to private ownership.

Thomas Paine, who was a Founding Father of the United States of America, also called for a “citizen’s dividend”—a payment made to all U.S. citizens funded by a tax on landowners.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s book, Where Do We Go From Here?, the civil rights activist envisioned a plan to combat poverty using a model of basic income. President Richard Nixon’s administration also conducted experiments on universal basic income.

For more, read Utopia, The Political Works of Thomas Paine, and Selections from the Table Talk of Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Regina Molaro