Both Left and Right Should Support Basic Income

Basic Income is for everyone

What is the major difference of perspective between Left and Right — in terms of their perspectives on issues of economics?

It’s oversimplifying things, of course, but people on the left tend to be very concerned about the poor, the disadvantaged, the low paid. And they tend to feel very much less sympathy towards the ‘rich and privileged.’

People on the right, on the other hand, tend to be more concerned about ‘hard-working taxpayers’ and ‘wealth-creating’ business owners and may have very little sympathy with ‘welfare-dependent scroungers.’

In truth, however, their differences often stem largely from their different perspectives on the same reality.

And the reality, of course, is that few real people fit so easily into the partisan, stereotypical descriptions either side often uses.

In reality, pretty much everyone pays taxes of one sort or another, so pretty much everyone is a ‘taxpayer’ in some way.

And pretty much everyone has government help of some sort or other — if not directly through welfare payments, then indirectly through state-provided infrastructure or through services such as free education or through law and order provision, for example. And professionals and business owners will also be indirectly subsidised by the fact that many of their customers and employees will receive some form of government financial help.

The typical ‘hard-working taxpayer’ may still have been privileged in several important ways. On the other hand, the poor and underprivileged do sometimes contribute to their own misfortune.

Thus, Left and Right perspectives are often based on rather extreme examples, whereas reality and real people don’t often fit into such politically-convenient stereotypes.

Ideally, people on both left and right would be far less partisan in their perceptions of reality. But whichever side of the spectrum a particular individual ‘belongs’ to and even if their partisan perceptions were assumed to be reasonably accurate, there’s usually still good reason for them to seriously consider supporting the idea of introducing a Basic Income system.

There are obvious reasons for people on the left to support Basic Income.

Basic Income prevents extreme poverty by giving every citizen a base income to live on — one which they can rely upon, because it is unconditional. It gets rid of demeaning and often unfair means-testing. And it gives people the chance to further improve their situation by giving them the financial backing they need to be able to take up education and training opportunities.

Some people on the left are not so sure about Basic Income. One objection they might raise is that they believe welfare support should be ‘targeted’ at the poor, not given to ‘rich and privileged’ people too. But this argument doesn’t stand up to rational examination. Yes, the rich will receive Basic Income, but they’ll also be paying more in taxes and it’s the net tax they pay that matters.

And since Basic Income is a much more economically efficient way to pay welfare benefits, with no means-testing required, fewer resources will be wasted on unnecessary bureaucracy and more resources can be made available for helping people in need.

People on the right are usually more concerned about the ‘taxpayer’ than with welfare recipients, but there are many good reasons for them to support Basic Income, too.

After all, if you’re a taxpayer, you help pay for welfare support AND the vast bureaucracy that goes with it. With Basic Income, however, we won’t need that vast bureaucracy, so the overall ‘burden’ placed on you by the welfare system can be significantly lower than it is now.

Taxes will be higher, but taxpayers get Basic Income too — and it’s the net difference between what you pay in tax and what the government pays you that counts. And there’s no inherent need for that net difference to be higher, on average, under a Basic Income system, than it is without one.

And if you are concerned about ‘scroungers,’ then you should be supporting Basic Income, because a Basic Income system will bring clear improvements in terms of work incentives. No longer will people be discouraged from working by having their welfare payments reduced if they find work or increase their hours.

And if you prefer ‘small government’ and vehemently dislike ‘Big Government,’ there’s more good news for you, because Basic Income allows the government to significantly shrink itself by employing far fewer people to administrate the welfare system. Furthermore, it dramatically decreases the need and justification for the state to pry into people’s private lives and personal financial arrangements.

And right-wingers will naturally be delighted by the support Basic Income provides for inventors, innovators and small businesses — enabling more people to do the sort of work they really love doing, potentially resulting in significant long-term improvements in productivity.

Basic Income is a far superior, kinder system for helping people who need help, but it also works in the interests of the taxpayer, because it’s a far more efficient, less wasteful form of welfare, which improves work incentives, nurtures innovation and creativity and supports enterprise across the entire economy.

Left and right have many differences, but one policy they should both be able to agree upon, is that we should get on with introducing a Basic Income system. It’s a better system for pretty much everyone.