The Feasibility of Citizen’s Income

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A Review By John McCone

 

Many books have been published that discuss the desirability and advantages of a Universal Basic Income paid to everyone. The Feasibility of Citizen’s Income is the first book I’ve encountered which thoroughly explores the concrete steps required to make it a reality. Malcolm Torry has experience working in a benefit office, running a think tank to educates policy makers and the general public about Basic Income, and has conducted academic research simulating the effect of different Basic Income Schemes on both government finance and household budgets. In The Feasibility of Citizen’s Income, he skilfully navigates the reader through the complex world of government institutions, policy administration, vested interests, political ideologies, government budgets, public opinion and household finance to ask: “What needs to happen to turn Basic Income into a reality?” and “What kind of Basic Income has a feasible chance of becoming a reality in the U.K.?” By exploring the history of previously successful, and unsuccessful, attempts to change U.K. public policy, and by investigating how the interactions of policy proposals with governing institutions, political, ideology and public opinion affected their success or failure, the clearest possible answer is provided.

In The Feasibility of Citizen’s Income, Malcolm Torry introduces the reader to the distinction between “Basic Income” – any non-withdrawable benefit paid to everyone, and a “Basic Income Scheme” – a particular non-withdrawable sum of money paid to everyone, based only on age, along with the accompanying taxes, and cuts to other benefits, required to fund it. The important message being that not all Basic Income Schemes are equally feasible. The Malcolm Torry presents “Scheme B”, as a Basic Income Scheme which ultimately involves paying working age adults an unconditional sum of £50 a week, which is funded by eliminating the tax free allowance for income tax and national insurance (which, since the magnitude of the Citizen’s Income is about equal to the extra tax that everyone pays, will not adversely affect their finances), while raising the higher National Insurance rate from 2% to 12% – the same as the basic one. Existing means-tested benefits are all retained with Citizen’s Income counted for the purposes of calculating benefit entitlements. While almost everyone will initially be as well-off after Scheme B is implemented as before, one particular group of people – those who have recently lost their jobs and are waiting for their means-tested benefit applications to be processed – will receive something rather than nothing, a considerable improvement to their financial security. Furthermore, because a portion of the benefits will become non-withdrawable, benefit recipients will not need to earn as much to climb out of the poverty trap, caused by benefit withdrawal, and significantly increase their take home pay. So while the overall positive effects of a Scheme B would be negligible for most people, it would greatly improve the lives of particular individuals who have recently fallen on hard times and might even improve the government’s finances by reducing means-tested benefit claims. It is, furthermore, suggested that the most politically feasible way to introduce Scheme B is gradually, one age group at a time.

I would recommend this book to those who are already familiar with the arguments in favour of Basic Income and are either interested in taking the next step to make it happen, or are wondering whether or not it is a feasible policy that could really be implemented – in other words, to activists, politicians, policy makers and those otherwise interested in government policy.

Activists that attempt to pressurize governments to implement unfeasible Basic Income Schemes that are impossible to fund are unlikely to be successful – regardless of how much popular support they can muster. Furthermore, since journalists are likely to conflate a public debate over the feasibility of a particular Basic Income Scheme, with a debate on the feasibility of Basic Income in general, vocal groups advocating flawed, unfeasible Basic Income Schemes run the risk of undermining the credibility of Basic Income as a whole. So long as the Basic Income community is divided on what they advocate, with different groups asking for different sums of money and refusing to support politicians who advocate “the wrong kind of Basic Income”, it’s possible that politicians will stay clear of the policy altogether. For this reason, everyone seriously advocating Basic Income should research the feasibility of introducing different Basic Income Schemes for the country in which they are located. Malcolm Torry’s book, The Feasibility of Citizen’s Income, is an invaluable resource for Basic Income advocates in the U.K. seeking to “line up” their Basic Income campaign with other groups while ensuring their demands are feasible and actionable at a policy level – whether they are advocating UBI on behalf of an organization specifically dedicated to basic income or one with multiple general objectives. The Feasibility of Citizen’s Income could also serve as a useful blueprint for the kind of considerations that need to be taken into account in other countries.

Beyond enthusiastic Basic Income activists and advocates who are looking to hone their arguments and campaign demands, I would also recommend this book to politicians, and those in the policy community who think Basic Income is a nice idea, but are on the fence over whether or not it is practical. This book carefully lays out the steps required to practically implement it. Finally, there is also something in this book for those with a general interest in the history of other government policies, such as the history of child benefit, minimum wage, National Insurance, or Universal Credit.