Waldorf News

The Next BIG Idea: Basic Income “What work would you do if your income was taken care of?” by Sarah Thorne and Benjamin Hohlmann

“If we want to be realistic then we have to assume that the labor market will no longer be able to support social integration for everyone in society much longer. If we ignore the option of the basic income, then we’re forced to risk everything for the sake of ‘economic growth,’ at any cost. The political reality today, from the far right to the far left and back again, is that everyone is calling for economic growth. This means we are thinking in terms of quantity, and suppressing any chances of developing new and improved models for society.” –Dr. Peter Ulrich

All over the world an interesting question is fascinating more and more people: the idea deals with an unconditional basic income grant (BIG), which everyone is entitled to, independently of income, gender, religion or age. In times like these, as we are painstakingly attempting to bail out our financial systems, it is becoming more and more important to develop an alternative which realigns the economy to focus on the individual. We have to become aware of the fact that our economy should serve our needs and not the other way round!

The dramatically rising unemployment rate has become a pressing “problem” in almost every country in the world. However, if we look closely, we can see that this problem has nothing to do with a lack of available work. Particularly in the social field, in care work, education or within the family, the amount of work that is desperately needed is infinite. The real problem lies in the fact that there are less and less jobs in this field. In other words; there is no money to pay and therefore enable people to do these important tasks.

So perhaps we should not focus on creating and designing new jobs at all. Perhaps we should shift our attention to creating conditions in which people are able to do the work that is seen as necessary, through an income. The BIG would do just that.

A basic income grant, which covers more than mere survival, is paid out unconditionally and on a monthly basis, and would initiate fundamental changes within society. At the same time it would enable many possibilities to emerge and develop. Let’s think it though…

Take young people, for example. A basic income grant would reduce the pressure of having to find the best paid job. It would give us the means to ask ourselves where our individual abilities and skills lie and in which way we can contribute to society. It would give us the ability to shape our education around what we want to become, instead of around the job market. As a society we would be able to turn our attention to the work we consider meaningful and indispensable. Today, so many of the interesting and important new projects and initiatives fail because of labor costs.

To clarify: the basic income grant is an income which guarantees a means for social and financial participation. It is meant as a foundation that can support work of any kind, and of course that includes employment.

“What work would you do if your income was taken care of?”

Naturally, people will question the economic viability of the basic income. However, financial experts have calculated that this is not the catch. There are a number of different models for how to fund an unconditional basic income. A particularly interesting idea suggests implementing or increasing value added taxes (VATs). This would be more meaningful than taxing labor, which currently makes up a large chunk of the budget for social benefits. Tax on income is especially contradictory because people who work are already contributing to society. In this sense taxes, as they are now, can act as a disincentive and in fact hold people back from working. With consumption on the other hand, the consumer necessarily draws on the services of others as well as on infrastructure, education, etc. Therefore a tax on consumption is a logical alternative. It is not a question of financial viability. The real difficulty lies in changing our attitudes. However, if there are only taxes on consumption, it must be balanced through tax rewards or a basic income, otherwise it would create tax inequalities. Furthermore these taxes can be regulated and set at a low tax level for consumer goods, while taxes on luxury products or products with high environmental costs can be substantially increased.

The idea of a basic income grant is being discussed all around the world. Two particularly interesting examples can be seen in the pilot projects both in Brazil and Namibia. They show that the basic income also offers interesting impulses for developing and emerging countries. In Germany there are practical initiatives too, although on a smaller scale. One example is the Captura project, which has chosen the appropriate slogan: “Work seeks income.”

Perhaps the most advanced discussions are taking place in Switzerland and Germany. In Germany the idea is supported by many initiatives as well as by distinct individuals such as the entrepreneur Götz Werner. As the founder of “dm-drogeriemarkt”, a successful German drugstore with 36,000 employees, Werner has been particularly influential in his ability to support the credibility and media attention of the idea. In Switzerland the main discussions are held within the Initiative Grundeinkommen and led by the entrepreneur Daniel Häni and the artist Enno Schmidt. Together they are planning a national referendum on the basic income to be held in spring 2012. With its system of direct democracy, Switzerland offers an ideal setting in which to broaden the scope of discussions on the basic income so that it can become an everyday issue.

This article originally appeared on the “Worldmaking” page of the International Youth Section. To view the article at source, click here.