Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Getting the basics wrong -Madhura Swaminathan

Getting the basics wrong -Madhura Swaminathan

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Mar 1, 2017   modified Modified on Mar 1, 2017
-The Hindu

Unlike the ‘Economic Survey’ proposal, the idea behind a universal basic income is one of redistribution


The Economic Survey 2016-17 tabled in Parliament last month has proposed introducing a universal basic income in India, and has devoted an entire chapter to this new idea. A universal and unconditional income transfer to all citizens in order to address the twin problems of poverty and unemployment is undoubtedly a proposal that merits serious consideration. The Economic Survey, however, gets it all wrong. It gets it wrong in terms of the alternative welfare measures available to a government, in terms of the purpose of such a measure, and in terms of the redistributive intent of such a measure (and correspondingly, of the role of taxation).

The experiment in Europe

In recent years, the strongest proponent of the idea of basic income has been the left-liberal political philosopher Philippe Van Parijs. In his book, Real Freedom for All, Mr. Parijs argues that the basis for universal basic income is the “fair distribution of real freedom to pursue the realization of one’s conception of the good life”. The main features of universal basic income are that it is provided by the state to all citizens on an individual basis, without a means test and without a work requirement.

An example of universal basic income is the Finnish proposal to provide unemployed citizens between the ages of 25 and 58 a monthly income of €560. In the experiment currently under way, the monthly income is being provided to 2,000 randomly selected unemployed persons irrespective of other income and whether that falls below a certain minimum (that is, the “means test”) and irrespective of whether they are seeking work, in job-related training, or even find part-time employment (that is, the “work requirement”).

In other words, universal basic income, as proposed and discussed in Europe, is a substitute for means-tested income benefits, with certain work requirements (such as undergoing job training). Existing guaranteed incomes schemes are usually targeted or means-tested, that is, dependent on level of income and only available to those below a threshold level of income. It is often linked to employment status. The core of the concept of basic income is the “absence of the means test and the absence of the work test”, that is, it separates the income benefit from eligibility based on current levels of income and from employment status.

The most commonly discussed alternative to universal basic income is a negative income tax. This is a scheme in which, for individuals below a certain income threshold, not only is the income of a household not taxed, but the household receives a tax credit that is the difference between the basic income or guaranteed income and tax liability. Mr. Parijs and other scholars suggest that universal basic income may be cheaper to operate than a negative income tax. The negative income tax, of course, assumes a country where all citizens file tax returns.

Please click here to read more.

The Hindu, 1 March, 2017, http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/getting-the-basics-wrong/article17383649.ece


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close