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Basic Income for Canadians: The key to a healthier, happier, more secure life for all
Canadian social programs were designed for a world in which most people graduated from high school, then found a permanent job with benefits that, barring unforeseen accidents, they would hold until they retired with a pension -- all under the benevolent eye of their workplace union. In the last forty years, however, the labour market has fundamentally changed. Good, full-time jobs have been replaced by part-time or temporary work that pays lower wages, offers fewer benefits and rarely comes with union support. Economic insecurity is now a feature of the lives for large numbers of people. Even advanced degrees do not guarantee young workers stable, well-paying jobs.
This new situation has given new life to an old idea -- basic income. This book explores this idea from a Canadian perspective. Basic income was tested in Manitoba in the 1970s. This and other experiments with basic income have shown that it improves family and community health and well-being, leads to a healthier attachment to the labour market, improves financial resilience and encourages education and training.
Author Evelyn L. Forget discusses how Canada would set a basic income, what it would accomplish, how it could be implemented, whether Canadians can afford it and how it would fit into the overall social policy landscape.
This new situation has given new life to an old idea -- basic income. This book explores this idea from a Canadian perspective. Basic income was tested in Manitoba in the 1970s. This and other experiments with basic income have shown that it improves family and community health and well-being, leads to a healthier attachment to the labour market, improves financial resilience and encourages education and training.
Author Evelyn L. Forget discusses how Canada would set a basic income, what it would accomplish, how it could be implemented, whether Canadians can afford it and how it would fit into the overall social policy landscape.
216 pages, Paperback
Published October 2, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 22, 2019
Although it's less popular in the discourse than it was a few years ago, this slim book is an important addition to the conversation about a basic income. An economist in the medical school at the University of Manitoba, Forget argues that a basic income for Canadians would make us healthier, more productive and allow people to escape the grinding, humiliating trap of poverty that keeps people from reaching their full potential.
Forget devotes chapters to previous experiments, how we might pay for a basic income, what social programs we might keep or phase out, how a basic income could be structured to ensure responsiveness, and how a basic income would affect different populations. She also spends a chapter refuting common myths or arguments against a basic income.
Forget took in depth look into Mincome, conducted in Manitoba in the 1970s. Because part of Mincome took place in a small community where everyone received the basic income, she was able to draw some important conclusions. First of all, two groups of people did work work less: new mothers and young men who were over 18, but still hadn't completed their last year of high school. Mothers with babies waited longer to return to work, and young men were more like to complete high school than leave to get a job. More small businesses were also started or expanded. People also visited the doctor less with acute problems, but engaged in more preventative health activities. (So less people in the ER, but more at the dentist.) Finally, there was increased community cooperation and investment because people knew that everyone had a secure income.
It's an interesting and extremely accessible read. If you're convinced of the merits of a basic income, this will shore that up, and if you're just interested in the concept, there's a lot of food for thought here. If you're convinced it's a terrible idea, I'd still recommend this, because you'll be able to get a good look at the other side and prepare your talking points.
Forget devotes chapters to previous experiments, how we might pay for a basic income, what social programs we might keep or phase out, how a basic income could be structured to ensure responsiveness, and how a basic income would affect different populations. She also spends a chapter refuting common myths or arguments against a basic income.
Forget took in depth look into Mincome, conducted in Manitoba in the 1970s. Because part of Mincome took place in a small community where everyone received the basic income, she was able to draw some important conclusions. First of all, two groups of people did work work less: new mothers and young men who were over 18, but still hadn't completed their last year of high school. Mothers with babies waited longer to return to work, and young men were more like to complete high school than leave to get a job. More small businesses were also started or expanded. People also visited the doctor less with acute problems, but engaged in more preventative health activities. (So less people in the ER, but more at the dentist.) Finally, there was increased community cooperation and investment because people knew that everyone had a secure income.
It's an interesting and extremely accessible read. If you're convinced of the merits of a basic income, this will shore that up, and if you're just interested in the concept, there's a lot of food for thought here. If you're convinced it's a terrible idea, I'd still recommend this, because you'll be able to get a good look at the other side and prepare your talking points.
May 18, 2024
Recipients of CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit) have already experienced the essence of what Basic Income could look like in Canada!
The unexpected struck (COVID) and emergency financial supports happened. That is precisely the role of Basic Income, but a true Basic Income would not have excluded people with disabilities or others living in poverty.
Dr. Evelyn L. Forget is a Professor of Economics and Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Her research examines the health and social implications of poverty and inequality, and she is often called upon by governments, First Nations, and international organizations to advise on poverty, inequality, health, and social outcomes.
For over thirty years, Evelyn Forget’s research program has focused on one issue: how can social policy ensure that everyone has access to the resources they require to live with dignity? “Everyone benefits from basic income…in exactly the same way that all taxpaying Canadians benefit from universal health insurance even if they do not now need hospital care, and in exactly the same way we benefit from fire insurance even if our house does not burn down. Basic income is an insurance policy against unpredictable life events.”
In her updated volume, this Canadian scientist promotes her well-considered plan for a healthier, happier, and more secure life for all, and underscores that Basic Income is an insurance policy to protect all Canadians. “Any one of us can have a child with disabilities who alters all our well-laid plans. Any one of us can suddenly be called upon to provide extra care for a parent or spouse or sibling who falls ill or who finds themselves retired a decade earlier than expected, and who would not want to assist oppressed women exiting hostile abuse situations?
Dr. Forget invites all Canadians to consider this life-saving option she has championed for many years.
To digress for a moment - Recently, I was shocked to learn that CEOs of Canadian charities entitle themselves to salaries of well over $370,000 per year. As a donor to Plan Canada, I wrote to their Toronto administration about my astonishment at the wealth drawn from donors who believed their money was going to desperate children. I received a reply stating that a salary of 350K was “in line with the earnings of the six main charity CEOs in Canada.”
It occurred to me that with UBI, the enormous salaries scraped from unsuspecting donors to 'charities' would end. With a government-approved policy, Canadians whose annual income fell short during hard times would be as legally entitled to aid as are Medicare cardholders. Not a charitable offering by those too well-paid to dole it out, but a human right.
Consider the benefits to university students who wait tables at night to pay the rent and housing. Fewer dropouts. Less depression. Less suicide. The amount they receive could pay for courses and shared housing too. In time, these graduates would become contributing taxpayers.
Imagine new mothers supported to raise their kids themselves. Imagine the diminished stress levels to relieve the mental health levels of whole communities. Imagine women desperate to exit prostitution actually supported to do just that, and still feed their kids. Please note that all UBI recipients are required to pay taxes. Wealthy 'charities' are exempt.
As I read, I considered how much basic income would have rescued me, a working mother, and my children, back in the day.
Even as my children grew into teens, this taxpayer could not afford more than our housing, food, and clothing. Vacations were rare. Dental bills were distressing. Gratefully, my children were avid readers, and our library cards were well-worn. When I broke my leg, I had to cash out my life insurance policy, which got us through until I could return to my three part-time jobs. How wonderful for my children and me to have received a financial boost, even for a while.
I calculated that with the ‘earnings’ of one CEO’s 400K from his charity business, four Canadian students could complete a four-year university degree – courses and housing paid – or 400 students could receive a $1,000 amount to chip off their annual rent.
Prof. Forget confronts the fears of those who think the 'handouts' would go to drugs and alcohol. She irons out the wrinkles for those concerned about abuses and costs. She confronts every possible scenario of this disaster-prevention recourse for adults who fall upon hard times - which includes most of us.
Well-written, engaging, filled with winning stories and factual data, all doubts vanished. I consider Basic Income an urgent step in Canadian advancement and evolution. Let's do this!
Eleanor Cowan, Author of A History of a Pedophile's Wife: Memoir of a Canadian Teacher and Writer
The unexpected struck (COVID) and emergency financial supports happened. That is precisely the role of Basic Income, but a true Basic Income would not have excluded people with disabilities or others living in poverty.
Dr. Evelyn L. Forget is a Professor of Economics and Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Her research examines the health and social implications of poverty and inequality, and she is often called upon by governments, First Nations, and international organizations to advise on poverty, inequality, health, and social outcomes.
For over thirty years, Evelyn Forget’s research program has focused on one issue: how can social policy ensure that everyone has access to the resources they require to live with dignity? “Everyone benefits from basic income…in exactly the same way that all taxpaying Canadians benefit from universal health insurance even if they do not now need hospital care, and in exactly the same way we benefit from fire insurance even if our house does not burn down. Basic income is an insurance policy against unpredictable life events.”
In her updated volume, this Canadian scientist promotes her well-considered plan for a healthier, happier, and more secure life for all, and underscores that Basic Income is an insurance policy to protect all Canadians. “Any one of us can have a child with disabilities who alters all our well-laid plans. Any one of us can suddenly be called upon to provide extra care for a parent or spouse or sibling who falls ill or who finds themselves retired a decade earlier than expected, and who would not want to assist oppressed women exiting hostile abuse situations?
Dr. Forget invites all Canadians to consider this life-saving option she has championed for many years.
To digress for a moment - Recently, I was shocked to learn that CEOs of Canadian charities entitle themselves to salaries of well over $370,000 per year. As a donor to Plan Canada, I wrote to their Toronto administration about my astonishment at the wealth drawn from donors who believed their money was going to desperate children. I received a reply stating that a salary of 350K was “in line with the earnings of the six main charity CEOs in Canada.”
It occurred to me that with UBI, the enormous salaries scraped from unsuspecting donors to 'charities' would end. With a government-approved policy, Canadians whose annual income fell short during hard times would be as legally entitled to aid as are Medicare cardholders. Not a charitable offering by those too well-paid to dole it out, but a human right.
Consider the benefits to university students who wait tables at night to pay the rent and housing. Fewer dropouts. Less depression. Less suicide. The amount they receive could pay for courses and shared housing too. In time, these graduates would become contributing taxpayers.
Imagine new mothers supported to raise their kids themselves. Imagine the diminished stress levels to relieve the mental health levels of whole communities. Imagine women desperate to exit prostitution actually supported to do just that, and still feed their kids. Please note that all UBI recipients are required to pay taxes. Wealthy 'charities' are exempt.
As I read, I considered how much basic income would have rescued me, a working mother, and my children, back in the day.
Even as my children grew into teens, this taxpayer could not afford more than our housing, food, and clothing. Vacations were rare. Dental bills were distressing. Gratefully, my children were avid readers, and our library cards were well-worn. When I broke my leg, I had to cash out my life insurance policy, which got us through until I could return to my three part-time jobs. How wonderful for my children and me to have received a financial boost, even for a while.
I calculated that with the ‘earnings’ of one CEO’s 400K from his charity business, four Canadian students could complete a four-year university degree – courses and housing paid – or 400 students could receive a $1,000 amount to chip off their annual rent.
Prof. Forget confronts the fears of those who think the 'handouts' would go to drugs and alcohol. She irons out the wrinkles for those concerned about abuses and costs. She confronts every possible scenario of this disaster-prevention recourse for adults who fall upon hard times - which includes most of us.
Well-written, engaging, filled with winning stories and factual data, all doubts vanished. I consider Basic Income an urgent step in Canadian advancement and evolution. Let's do this!
Eleanor Cowan, Author of A History of a Pedophile's Wife: Memoir of a Canadian Teacher and Writer
June 13, 2019
Will a Basic Income for all help eradicate poverty? How can it be done and who will pay for it? What will happen to the work force? These and many more questions are fully answered in this comprehensive review. And it' s not all facts and figures but stories of people who have been involved in Basic Income experiments - too far and few - over the years. A must read for those who are not convinced of this as a solution and a good read for those of us who are already convinced
August 16, 2020
Informative and well written in plain language that is easily understood. Obviously, the COVID-19 global pandemic has exacerbated some of the factors that contribute to the case for a basic income. It’s my understanding the author is writing an update considering the changing fiscal environment. This book provides a great start to better understanding the issues regardless if you’re supportive or opposed to the idea of a basic income.
July 9, 2020
I skimmed this book using the index, though it seems like I read every word (outside of the references).
The “myths” section is particularly powerful, though the whole book is worth a read. The author took on the (seemingly) thankless task of taking on common beliefs that are not grounded in evidence by lining up all the evidence she could find. And in the era of COVID-19 and the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, any method that makes government run more efficiently is worth consideration.
Whatever your opinion on the matter, this book ought to provoke plenty of thought.
The “myths” section is particularly powerful, though the whole book is worth a read. The author took on the (seemingly) thankless task of taking on common beliefs that are not grounded in evidence by lining up all the evidence she could find. And in the era of COVID-19 and the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, any method that makes government run more efficiently is worth consideration.
Whatever your opinion on the matter, this book ought to provoke plenty of thought.
November 26, 2018
An excellent examination of the subject by someone who knows it very well
December 12, 2019
Pretty solidly written and very relevant to contemporary discussions about poverty in Canada. Written by an academic but doesn't read that way too much. I'd recommend it.
July 12, 2020
This book should be read if you are interested in the benefits of a basic income program. Dr. Forget also recounts some previously initiated basic income programs from across Canada.
March 21, 2023
A must read. The job landscape will be changing drastically in the future as technology changes our world. Now is the time to re-evaluate our social services and financial aid programs to suit the needs or our society. We found funding during Covid so we know it can be done. Let’s examine the studies on basic income and find a way to allow everyone to live with dignity.
April 29, 2021
5 stars for the content. Must-read for anyone interested in Canadian social policy, taking into account many perspectives on basic income as well as myths and cost options. 3 stars for the writing - it was simple to read, but repetitive and disengaging at times.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews