Basic Income Is the Answer - Essay Example

Introduction

The radical stature of the basic income idea has made it a vital aspect in many countries demanding extensive attention in an array of economies. Initially, the concept was intended to provide long lasting solutions to the issues that emerged amidst the traditional welfare states. There are different perspectives regarding the concept of basic income. Just like there are proponents of the concept, similarly, there are opponents who will argue against the policy. There are an array of avenues especially in the business world where basic income is not embraced considering that the remuneration personnel argue that there is need to establish the amount of work done and make payments in that perspective. However good such a system may be, there is deficiency in the general welfare of individuals who may work and generate little or no income. Contemporary research comprises of arguments that evolve more of disagreeing concepts than agreeing ones. Some argue that adopting the basic income policy is uneconomical in that it offer more of disincentive than incentives. The paper intends to provide an outline of supporting perspective regarding the application of the basic income policy.

There is substantial need to shed light on what basic income systems would have on the social justice systems. Campaigners and proponents in areas such as Switzerland have made suggestions regarding the level of basic income that is livable. The argument is that the service persons ought to have or benefit from partial incentives, if not full, to ensure that they can survive as they wait upon the rewards that are associated with their capacity to perform. Therefore, in a bid to support this concept in a professional dimension, it will be imperative to provide a clear definition, historical overview of the policy and an overview of other proponents of the policy. It will also be essential to conduct a comparative assessment regarding the extent in which the policy is different from other policies.

Background and Historical Overview of the Policy

The term, Basic income, from an economic perspective is used to mean the guaranteed level of income, the guaranteed livable income, the wage of the citizens, together with the proposals for any form of minimal level of income security for the people within a particular economy. Alternatively, it could be used to mean a social security system where all citizens in country are supposed to receive some indisputable amount of money on unconditional terms. The amount is provided by the government and other alternative public institutions. Hence, it becomes an additional income as far there are other sources of funds from alternative sources. In addition, the basic income could be viewed from the perspective of cases where the income is financed by the profits of some publicly owned enterprises. These are some very essential and major components of the proposed models of market socialism. In a bid to understand how this multiple-edged policy emerged, it is essential to undertake a brief historical overview.

Historical Overview

Amongst the stipulated forms of basic incomes is the unconditional income that is offered from a socialist perspective. The idea of this form of basic income is attributed to three distinct historical roots. First, there is the idea of minimum income. The idea is dated to have emerged in the 16th century. The second idea of unconditional one-off grant emerged towards the end of the 18th century. Finally, a merger of the two idea resulted in the finally idea of unconditional basic income that occurred in the 19 century.

Most importantly, from a historical context, the idea of minimum income, as guaranteed by the government to the members of a certain community, was older that this radical idea of unconditional income. The idea, however, started as a religious or theological plea to offer public assistance. The assistance was initially meant to uplift those who were economically unstable. Therefore, between the 1512 and 1517, the revolution of this idea resulted in some solid idea that could have been embraced. However, towards the 18th century, a new idea emerged. There emerged a need to provide social insurance. It was a system that was massively embraced in the European context. Arguably, this could have been termed as the basic endowment. Ultimately, the basic idea by the utopian socialists merged the recently discussed ideas and emerged with the unconditional basic income model. It focused on the need to observe and work on social responsibilities, rights and the welfare regarding all members of the society. A series these ideas have been incorporated in the 20th century. For instance, there has been the establishment of a renowned global, basic income scheme such as the Alaska Permanent Fund.

The policy receives massive support especially in the west. Most economies find it important to at least address one dimension of the basic income. As the population grows, the economic stability of most people is diminishing and there is a need for such a system to be in place to dissolve the discrepancy. A number of countries have supported the idea in the context that they already have welfare programs with them. For instance, the Germans have had the German welfare state that is meant to deal with issues such as poverty and also those who are working under poor working conditions. The most important thing is that these different countries attempt to use the concept to develop several programs that conduct well organized approaches as far as they serve the income supplementary role.

The basic income policy is different from other policies in a set of ways. For instance, it is different in that it offers incentives even in avenues where the recipients may not have worked for them. As such, it is a strong policy whose endorsements mainly support the socialist way of life where the stability of the people is more important that the direct input they have to the economy. From a business perspective, the basis income could be rendered even when an individual is not active. From a socialist perspective, it is all about uplifting the social status of life for the citizens as opposed to making it an incentive in performance.

How Basic Income Applies In Real Life

There are different ways through which the basic income policy in manifested in the real life. It is imperative to understand that the income could be paid in terms of kind gestures or real cash value. Arguably, different countries and economics have different ways of expressing the basic income policy and using it to conduct both economic and socialistic roles in the society. However, it is imperative to denote that most cases associated basic income as a supplementary source of a living as opposed to being the only income that one is entitled.

First, there are several aspects that are likely to direct the direction towards which the basic income policy will be executed in real life. In this case, the imperative elements that one ought to understand include the probable recipients of this benefit. First, children, and old people are liable for the pension. For instance, in the context of children, the basic income policy is applied to an extent that their benefits are provided in cash form. The cash is used to compensate the families that raise these children by subsidizing the costs associated with raising of the children. A certain level or amount of money is set aside to benefit the children especially in the context of reducing the economic burden they impose on their parents. Concurrently, it is certain that the children benefits are not only meant to benefit them but also alleviate the children from the parental constraints.

The basic income is also applicable in real life when providing the old age pension. There are different ways of offering these benefits especially depending on whether the approach is used as a welfare approach or as a way of boosting their economic capacity. Usually, the current revenues are used to make payments for the current revenue demands. Accordingly, the pay as you go system could serve as a good facilitating factor towards making the system easy to run. These are amongst the main real life approaches towards basic income.

Affordability and Economic Implications Associated With Basic Income

Considering the fact that these funds are either derived from the federal reserves and the tax system in the economy, if appropriately used, there is minimal feasibility of the system being unaffordable. In this context, the only issue that could result in incapacity to effectively work on the programs is that economic depressions. For instance, it is certain that the 2007-2008 economic crisis must have made it hard for the country to offer the income to non-productive entities in the economy. From a professional point of understanding, it is imperative to point out that the affordability of the basic income proposals heavily relies on the costs associate with them and the tax increases required, as well as, the potential of the economic parameters to support them.

Alternatively, the issue of inflation is not easy to ignore in such a scenario. There is a high likelihood of inflation if there is mismanagement of the resources that are supposed to support the basic income programs. Most importantly, the finance background necessary to support the program, in most cases is formulated in such a manner that it will support the relevant parties who deserve it. There is a variety of ways that could be used to reduce the burden is that of ensuring that the productive population is assisted in terms of offering job opportunities for them. Hence, inflation is not likely to emerge not unless other support systems in the economy are mismanaged.

From a practical approach, the counties that have been making attempts to make the basic policy a success is Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. Research associated with the Norwegian state and the impact of using the basic income approach to provide the “mother’s wage” and other forms of programs including the children and old-age pension stipulates that benefits of the system can be identified. For instance, the calculates conducted regarding the program indicates that it is cheaper for the state to pay people in terms of the basic income instead of providing finance for the institutions that provide care to the members of the society. From this inference, it is indisputable that the approach is most likely to be the most obvious and useful option to offer social and economic assistance to the members of stage.

Benefits Accrued To the Society and Economy

The use of basic income is very effective and beneficial to both the society and the economy. First, it is imperative to understand that the payments made by the state are conducted on an individual basis. However, the amount paid to the individuals heavily depends on the complete analysis of the type of household in which one belongs. Therefore, the basic income is used to increase the welfare of the poor in the society. However, besides offering them a status in the community, it also enables them disburse these benefits in term of commercial activities. For instance, solvent demand is embraced. Further, it is easier form the members of the society to engage in education activities especially in the context of the fact that the costs of schooling is reduced.

From the above aspects, increased opportunity to access most of these social amenities. Thus, it helps in improving the level of equality amongst all the members of the society irrespective of the economic class. Arguably, the most people, before the incorporation of sensitive systems such as the basic income are affected by the unemployment trap. Usually, the benefits are calculated in terms of the nature of the household from which one originates. Therefore, it would be very infeasible for there to be cases of individuals failing to join to labor force just because the financial incentives are sufficient to run their lives.

With regards to the government, the policy is very essential in a number of ways. First, it addresses the issue of over expenditure that could be contributed by the bureaucratic allocation of resources to care facilities and programs. Usually, the funds that are expected to be used to serve the interests of the society is mismanaged making it hard for the government to provide substantial evidence regarding the use of the funds. However, the use of the basic income approach makes the process quite efficient and easy to follow up. Thus, it saves the government the additional costs associated with bureaucracy of government projects.

Problems that can be solved using the Basic Income Policy

First, the use of the basic income policy is more organized and systematic in that it requires that the government has the data of the individuals benefitting from it. Arguably, that makes it possible to curb the challenges postulated by illegal immigration. Further, it is a well-coordinated policy whose enactment reduces case of resource abuse. It is an approach that places the responsibility of the resources on the individuals who get the access to the income. Therefore, it is possible to reduce cases of waste or fraudulent attempts to acquire resource that are allocated in the current policy that deals with the community. Finally, it makes it easier for the progressive taxes to be instituted. Considering that each household’s or individual’s economic stability is assessed amidst the use of the basic income approach, then it becomes possible to coordinate the collection of taxes in a progressive system.

Conclusion

Therefore, amidst the series of challenges and adverse perceptions regarding the incorporation of the basic income policy into the economy, the policy seems to have more benefits than challenges. First, it a central pillar in the improvement of the welfare of the members of the society, it also makes it easy for the government to manage the resources. For instance, it is cheaper to use the policy than using funding projects to serve the members of the society. Therefore, it makes operations easier for the government, as well as, the people.