Category Archives: Basic Income Guarantee

Workers of the defunct Seguro Popular staged a sit-in before the National Institute of Health and Welfare (Insabi) in January 2021 after they were let go without the possibility to be rehired. EFE / Jos Mndez

From the start of the covid-19 pandemic, it was clear that the world's governments faced a difficult paradox: to try to protect the rights to life and health of millions of people and prevent the collapse of their health systems, they had to implement severe measures of "social distancing" that would massively affect the exercise of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR).

A survey conducted in November 2020 in Jalisco, Mexico, by researchers from ITESO, the Jesuit University in Guadalajara, documented this situation. The results lead to the conclusion that the exercise of ESCR in countries with a weak and inoperative social security infrastructure, such as Mexico, is highly dependent on employment and income. In these contexts, it is not the action of the State that guarantees the validity of rights, but the actions of people and their family and social support networks.

At the end of March 2020, the Government of Mexico established the suspension of non-essential activities in the country. This measure - the central action of social distancing - implied the closure of a large part of the countrys economic activity. Almost 9% of the people who contribute to household income in Jalisco lost their jobs. About half of them found another job starting in the summer, when the economy began to recover, after authorities began to lift restrictions on "non-essential" activities. Another quarter managed to find another source of income. By November 2020, however, about 25% of those who lost their job had not found another or an alternative source of income.

For their part, people who kept their jobs suffered cuts in the number of working hours: 36.9% worked fewer hours per week than before the pandemic and lockdown. The survey documents that this affected the lowest-income families in Jalisco the most.

This combination of job loss and reduction of hours worked generated a dynamic that led to more than half of Jalisco's families to lose, on average, 43.2% of their income. A considerable number of them lost more than 60% of what they used to receive before the pandemic.

The consequences of this process of loss of employment and income were very costly for the majority of households in Jalisco, which faced severe difficulties in maintaining access to goods and services related to ESCR.

Students from more than 50,000 households, particularly the poorest, dropped out of school. On the other hand, pre-existing conditions, particularly in terms of access to the internet and digital devices, meant that students from hundreds of thousands of homes were unable to exercise their right to education in optimal conditions during virtual classes: 27.6% of households with students did not have access to the internet with the necessary connectivity and just over half (52.5%) did not have enough digital devices. Once again, the most affected households were those of low socioeconomic status

Almost half of households were concerned that food was running out, and the number of people who reported running out of food, consuming less than recommended standards, or stopping healthy eating increased.

Only two out of every 100 households in Jalisco had to change residence. However, three out of every ten households had difficulty paying their rent or home loans and almost twenty out of every hundred were left without access to basic services such as water, electricity, gas or telephone because they could no longer afford them.

The governments (federal, state and municipal) did not react to this loss of employment, the generalized reduction in income and the resulting effects on access to ESCR: only 3% of households in Jalisco received government financial support. It was the families themselves who tried to react, and exhausted their savings, borrowed money from family or friends, or sold their assets.

During the pandemic, the three levels of government of the Mexican State failed in their obligation to guarantee access to human rights for millions of people because they did not have a sufficient social security infrastructure and did not react with due diligence. The guarantee of the exercise of human rights is an obligation of the State, not of the relatives or friends of people who do not have sufficient income or access to social security. The State must develop a robust social security apparatus and guarantee a universal basic income that enables the exercise of human rights for all people, regardless of their employment status and income, not only in extreme contexts, such as the pandemic, but permanently.

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Personal resources and those of family and friends, not the State, guarantee ESCR in Jalisco - OpenGlobalRights

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon vowed to introduce rent controls, expand free healthcare and lay the groundwork for a universal basic income as she set out a government agenda that will drag Scotland to the left.

Setting out her policy programme after agreeing a coalition deal with the Green Party, the First Minister confirmed plans to trial a four-day working week, plough an extra 2.5bn into health spending and work to develop a minimum income guarantee.

Ms Sturgeon said the guarantee will be a mixture of earnings and targeted state payments in a bid to lay the foundations for a universal basic income if Holyrood captures full tax and spending powers.

Speaking to the Scottish parliament, she said: As we emerge from the pandemic, choices fall to be made that will shape our economy and our society for decades to come. Which parliament - Westminster or Holyrood - should make these choices?

Officials in Holyrood will begin to rebuild the economic case for independence in a detailed prospectus ahead of a new referendum before the end of 2023, Ms Sturgeon also revealed. Economists warned the economics of a Yes vote are even more challenging than at the time of the first referendum.

The SNP fell short of an overall majority in Scottish parliamentary elections in May but has struck a power sharing tie-up with the pro-independence Greens.

The slew of giveaways and experimental welfare policies will be seen as another step towards the left for Scotland as the SNP attempts to persuade voters to turn away from the UK.

While polling suggested that Scots were in favour of independence earlier this year, the no vote has retaken the lead as the vaccine campaign kickstarted the economys recovery.

Paul Dales, economist at Capital Economics, warned that the economics of independence are even more challenging than at the time of the first referendum in 2014.

He said: It would require Scotland to put in place credible plans to cut the budget deficit. The resulting fiscal squeeze would restrain economic growth.

Scotlands notional deficit soared to 22pc of GDP in 2020-21, and was far larger than the rest of the UKs before the pandemic struck. Economists warned that an independent Scotland would likely have to implement massive austerity to shore up the countrys finances given this large shortfall.

Ahead of Tuesdays announcement, one of Ms Sturgeons own advisers warned of a complete lack of specificity in the economic plans for independence.

Prof Mark Blyth, a member of the First Minister's new economic advisory council, pushed back against nationalist hopes of Scotland moving to the Scandinavian model.

He said: How do you become your own thing given where you're starting? That's the only thing that really needs to be answered."

The SNP-Green programme also included a National Care Service Bill to boost funding for the sector, while a system of wraparound childcare will be created to offer support before and after school and during the holidays.

It also included a number of climate pledges, with another 500m earmarked to provide green jobs, and a promise of more than 33bn in capital investment over the course of the parliament.

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Sturgeon drags Scotland to the left with plan for universal income - Telegraph.co.uk

The idea of free money for everyone may sound attractive but does a universal basic income live up to the billing? Heres everything you need to know

The grassroots support for a basic income has been growing around the UK in recent years. Image: Russell Shaw Higgs / Flickr

A universal basic income (UBI) is an idea that has attracted plenty of attention in recent years not least as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has shone a light on poverty and inequality.

For many a UBI is a way to tackle both issues, for others it is an expensive waste of money.

As the Scottish and Welsh governments both explore ways to bring a form of UBI to their respective countries, The Big Issue looks at the idea and how its supporters hope it will change UK society where the gap between the rich and the poor is one of the worst in Europe.

A universal basic income is a regular payment that is given to everyone in society to create a minimum income floor. That means that everyone earns the same amount of money through the payment and, therefore, cannot earn less than that in income.

The money is unconditional with no strings attached to dictate how it should be spent and no guidance on how to act to earn it.

The idea is meant to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality and the stigma associated with state handouts as everyone is receiving the same.

However, there are many forms of basic income and not all are universal some are more targeted at certain sections of society. For example, Wales is rumoured to be considering a Care Leavers plus approach for people leaving care. Or rough sleepers have been included in past trials in London and Canada.

There is no set amount to a universal basic income trial and it is set based on the needs of the people it is designed to support and the budget available.

For example, a UBI experiment in Finland in 2017 and 2018 gave 2,000 people 560 (490) every month for two years, targeting people who received unemployment benefits.

But in London Assembly deliberations over a UBI trial in the English capital in early 2020, UBI Lab Londons Daniel Mermelstein told the economic committee that modelling showed child poverty could be reduced by 40 per cent if everyone received between 60 and 75 per week (between 240 and 300 a month) regardless of income.

Writing for The Big Issue, UBI Lab Networks Sam Gregory said: Most proposals in the UK range between 50 and 150 a week for adults, and 30 to 80 a week for children. The highest earners would receive a UBI, but would also pay more in tax to fund a basic income for everybody.

The figure changes depending on the model, its size, the people it is required to support and how much money is available to invest in the UBI.

The clue is in the name. As a core idea, a universal basic income is universal and will be given to everyone in society, regardless of income, whether they are employed or otherwise or where they live.

However, there are different types of basic income models with some choosing to target different members of society rather than everyone.

While UBI is touted as a way of tackling poverty it is yet to be trialled at a large enough scale to prove its potential as a society wide solution.

The Finnish trial of 2,000 people is one of the largest trials so far. Paid to people who were receiving unemployment benefit, many participants went on to find jobs even while on the trial and reported a greater sense of wellbeing.People who received basic income reported less mental strain, depression, sadness and loneliness as well as more positive perception of their ability to learn and concentrate.

Another trial in Canada claimed to show incredible results when giving a basic income to rough sleepers. A charity called Foundations for Social Change (FFSC) worked with four homeless shelters in Vancouver to give 50 homeless people a one-off cash transfer of $7,500 working out at 4,336 as well as setting them up with a free bank account and a mobile phone.

The trial found the 50 cash transfers freed up shelter spots and saved the Vancouver shelter system $8,100 (4,739) per person over the course of a year after the experiment began in spring 2018 for a total saving of $405,000 (236,950). A second trial helping 200 people is now on the way.

FFSC founder Claire Williams said of the project: In some cases people havent started in the same position as us, it is that financial barrier that they cant seem to transcend. So why dont we give them that catalyst to move their lives forward?

A form of universal basic income is on the way in both Wales and Scotland.

Wales first minister Mark Drakeford announced a UBI would be trialled following his first speech after being re-elected on May 6 2021. Drakeford name-checked UBI in his speech in which he vowed the Welsh government would take on board new and progressive ideas from wherever they come.

The Welsh leader confirmed that a trial was in development in the days that followed.

Wales Future Generations commissioner Sophie Howe has backed a UBI trial in Wales, claiming it will improve wellbeing in the long-term.

Howe said: UBI could protect not just those hit hard by Covid but every one of us from other shocks to come like the climate emergency thats going to cause more devastation via extreme weather like heatwaves and floods.

Meanwhile, Scottish ministers have also laid out their plans to create a form of UBI which they are calling a minimum income guarantee.

The ruling Scottish National Party committed to the plan in their manifesto ahead of the May 2021 elections. Ministers started developing the idea in August as social justice secretary Shona Robison led the first steering group meeting to discuss the details of the guarantee.

We are committed to progressing the delivery of a minimum income guarantee, which could be revolutionary in our fight against poverty. It is a clear demonstration of our ambition and aspiration for Scotland, said Robison.

The policy is innovative, bold and radical. It reflects our clear desire to do everything with our limited powers to deliver the change needed, using every lever at our disposal. Eradicating child poverty and building a fairer, more equal country must be a national mission, not just for the government, but our parliament and broader society.

While there is plenty of support from councils across England, Westminster has not been as supportive.

A DWP spokesperson told The Big Issue in August 2021: Universal credit has delivered during the pandemic, providing vital support to millions. Unlike a universal basic income, our approach to welfare recognises the value of supporting people into well-paid work while protecting the most vulnerable in society.

The idea is still untested at large scale to show how it could impact on society but it has both supporters and detractors.

The leading argument in favour of a UBI is that it will go some way towards tackling poverty and close the gap between the rich and poor.

The conversation around both issues has intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic which has affected the world of work and seen millions of people turn to furlough and universal credit to make ends meet.

However, experts have been arguing that a model of UBI could make a difference long before the pandemic.

I think it was crunch time a long time ago with this, Cleo Goodman, co-chair of the Basic Income Earth Network Congress 2021 Local Organising Committee the worlds biggest UBI conference. I think a basic income makes practical sense, not just ethical sense, I think it would have been a better move than 10 years of austerity, certainly.

But it would also have been a better move than piecemeal solutions to income support during the pandemic, which left people behind. The whole point of it is that its universal, that its comprehensive, that it is genuinely a floor that people cant fall beneath. So it was always too late when we werent able to build that.

Goodmans 2019 report, co-edited with Mike Danson, professor emeritus Heriot-Watt University into how a basic income could interact with existing housing problems in Scotland found a basic income could help to prevent homelessness through eviction. The report also concluded that people who live together are often financially worse off while means-tested benefits and a UBI could help to prevent that.

However, a number of concerns were also highlighted in the report, including that a UBI would not address the geographic discrepancies in housing costs or the relative high rate of inflation surrounding housing costs and implementation may lead to people being worse off financially.

The Westminster government has described the model as expensive and that fear has been echoed by MPs in the Work and Pensions Committee who also said a UBI would not target support at people who need it the most.

However, campaigners have disputed this claim, insisting that re-working the tax system could mean the money handed out in a basic income could be returned through tax on high-income earners who do not need the cash.

There is a growing grassroots movement behind a UBI.

The Universal Basic Income Lab Network is a campaign group made up of local decentralised groups across the world as the pandemic broke out in March last year they had seven labs. Now they have 38 across the globe including 32 in the UK. To join or start a UBI Lab where you are, visit ubilabnetwork.org.

Meanwhile, campaigners in Wales have started a petition to ask the Welsh government to design a geographically-based UBI that includes children, the employed, the unemployed and pensioners, as well as targeting care leavers as is currently being touted.

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What is a universal basic income? And which countries are eyeing a trial? - Big Issue

ACTOR Greg Wise has said it is time to end toxic Victorian thinking about the undeserving poor and introduce Universal Basic Income.

The TV and film star was one of the speakers who addressed a major online conference organised from Glasgow last week, which brought together experts from around the world to discuss the idea of governments guaranteeing a regular minimum income to every citizen.

In a recorded message to the Basic Income Earth Network Congress, Wise, who is appearing in this years Strictly Come Dancing, said he enjoyed financial security today thanks to fortunate circumstances.

But he said: Should accident of birth and luck be the only means not to live a precarious life?

A society is judged by how it deals with its least fortunate members at least, that is how it should be. So how are we faring?

Not terribly well. Even pre-pandemic we were seeing a rise in childhood hunger, the fast disappearing secure band of society, the huge gap between most of us and the few super-rich.

Wise argued that Victorian thinking about the ethics of the workhouse and the undeserving poor were still ingrained in society in the UK.

He said an example was his wife, the Oscar winning actress Emma Thompson, appearing on a radio show in which the presenter put forward the idea that childhood hunger was a result of the fecklessness of parents.

He said: Maybe now with the furlough scheme having been seen as essential, we can look again at Universal Basic Income through a different lens, taking whatever toxic Victorian view that we have carried with us and see money given out from the state in a healthier way.

He added: Lets give it a go, lets try a Universal Basic Income and allow everyone the ability to at least in a small way feel they have some power to navigate, some sense of protection and availability to think beyond just struggling to the end of each month and try and access that principle human right happiness.

Scotland has looked at the feasibility of piloting Citizens Basic Income, concluding it would be desirable but the powers to run such a scheme lie with Westminster. Last week the Scottish Government announced plans to start work on a minimum income guarantee, which is targeted at those on lower incomes.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also addressed the conference in a video message, saying the gathering was an opportunity to make the case how Universal Basic Income can help create fairer and more equal societies for the future.

She added: That wont be an easy task, but the past 18 months have shown us that things that can seem difficult or even impossible can indeed be implemented when we have the will, the imagination and the ambition.

Experts from around the world shared research and experiences of Universal Basic Income at the gathering, which concluded yesterday.

Simone Cecchini, of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, said many countries in the region had introduced an emergency basic income as a response to the pandemic.

He said extending this into a full Universal Basic Income would be costly, but said it could be done gradually by initially targeting groups such as children, to prevent a lost generation as a result of the impact of Covid.

We think the medium and long-term policy goal is to implement a universal basic income, he said.

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Call for Universal Basic Income to end 'toxic' thinking around poverty - The National

SCOTLAND is set to host the worlds largest universal basic income (UBI) conference this month.

Basic Income Network Scotland, in partnership with the University of Strathclyde, will see the 22nd Basic Income Earth Network Congress come to Glasgow from August 18-21.

The congress with an expansive programme of academic presentations, workshops, artists and activists from all over the world will welcome participants including United Nations representatives to focus on taking UBI from an idea to a reality.

UBI is currently defined as an unconditional, non-withdrawable income for every individual as a right of citizenship, with advocates including Pope Francis. A combination of factors has broadened its appeal in recent times: rising inequality, widespread economic insecurity, and the potential of labour-displacing technological change, including automation and artificial intelligence.

For several years Scotland has aimed to lead the UBI debate in the UK and at last years elections, the SNPs manifesto proposed a move to a minimum income guarantee in the current parliament to form the foundations for a basic income if Scotland chooses independence.

Ronnie Cowan MP said: This congress comes at a pivotal time when peoples livelihoods and work opportunities have been limited due to a global pandemic. A basic income could act as a safety net for those struggling to make ends meet and give them the opportunity to empower themselves and move forward.

I was delighted to learn the Basic Income Earth Network Congress for 2021 is to be held, virtually, in Glasgow as this will be a tremendous opportunity to show to the rest of the world the actions Scotland has already taken in pursuing a basic income. I believe the time for introducing a basic income is now.

A 250,000 Scottish Government-funded study led by four local authorities (Glasgow, Edinburgh, North Ayrshire and Fife) provides the basis for Scotlands headline plenary session.

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Scotland to host world's largest conference on Universal Basic Income - The National

One in five South Africans lives in extreme poverty. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ashley Vlotman)

Wafaa Abdurahman is the former project manager of Women and Environment of the Community Development Foundation, Western Cape. She worked with groups of women from communities on the Cape Flats as well as youth. She assisted CBOs and NPOs with organisational development as well as campaigns in the areas of GBVF, leadership and amplifying the voices of community women. She is the national coordinator of the Fighting Inequality Alliance South Africa (FIA SA).

The recent upheaval in South Africa has left the country reeling. In the worst unrest since the fall of apartheid, the harsh inequality that plagues the country brought about a wave of rioting and looting.

About R50-billion in damages has been estimated. The cost of human existence in this staggeringly unequal country has never before been as apparent and bleak as it is now, in the midst of a pandemic that has seen more than two million people lose jobs and 11 million living below the poverty line.

Now more than ever, South Africa need not rebuild an old system one that was never sustainable to begin with but to build a new one based on meeting the desperate need to take care of all our people.

There is also a desire for the organisations that are already mobilising communities to spread their knowledge and expertise to enable others to be part of building a better society. The Festival to Fight Inequality hosted by the Fight Inequality Alliance, which takes place from 13-14 August, aims to provide a digital space for the growing anti-inequality movement internationally to reconnect and recharge around common struggles and solutions, including the call for a universal basic income grant (Ubig).

A range of organisations from South Africa will be taking part in the festival, including #YouthArise a youth organisation that will use drama and poetry to convey their lived experiences of inequality on the lives of youth on the Cape Flats in Cape Town; the Assembly of the Unemployed a national movement of the unemployed speak about their lived experiences and why it is necessary to have the Ubig; the Makause Community Organisation of Gauteng will use drama and art to demonstrate inequality in their community through Theatre of the Oppressed; the Marikana Youth Organisation amplifying the lives of the homeless; Tshisimani launching the Pocket Queerpedia tool for activists; and the Alternative Information and Development Centre #EndAusterity campaign and the need for the BIG and to address youth unemployment.

The festival will also involve plenary sessions with activists from all over the world on issues such as from vaccine apartheid to vaccine internationalism and the pandemic of inequality.

A global mobilisation such as this festival aims to equip people with the knowledge and tools to combat the growing disparity between the rich and the poor. When people have the instruments of revolution in their hands, true change can take place and that is why festivals such as this are important for equipping activists and citizens alike with this understanding.

Reasons to fight inequality now?

In the context of a long-standing structural unemployment crisis and structural inequality, this cannot be addressed only through expanding employment. When we look closely at the glaring polarity that exists among the haves and the have-nots, its not just about economics; its about survival in a world that elevates the former and devalues the latter in ways that go far beyond income discrepancies.

This is evident in the countrywide plea to extend the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant and enable it to be received by caregivers. Groups such as the Fight Inequality Alliance, Black Sash and the C-19 Peoples Coalition, as well as many other civil society groups and community organisers, have recognised that a universal basic income guarantee (Ubig) is not just desirable, but absolutely necessary.

South Africa was already in recession when the pandemic hit and through the governments strict lockdown the economy contracted by 7% in 2020. Unemployment hit a record high of 32.6% by the beginning of 2021. Over the past year, almost two thirds of households in South Africa reported running out of money to buy food and almost one in five went hungry.

The termination of the SRD in April left six million people without any form of income and civil society organisations had a huge hand in getting the grant reinstated. But while the pandemic had a hand in tipping the country into its current chaos, it was merely the straw that broke the camels back.

The SRD grant of a meagre R350 per month can cover only 60% of a persons minimum required food intake; that is why we call on the grant to be increased to at least R585, which is the food poverty line.

This is not the best-case scenario.

One in five South Africans lives in extreme poverty while the wealthiest 10% own more than half the national income. The poorest 40% share a paltry 7.2% of the largest income inequality observed by the UNs Human Development Index.

It is with this knowledge that a Ubig is one of the best tools available to reduce poverty, hunger and destitution in this, one of the most unequal societies and economies in the world. Organisations that have been calling for a Ubig have poured a lot of research into how we can make it possible.

For example, the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ), has published a financing option for a Ubig. Often viewed as an alternative to work, critics of a basic income guarantee say it would shrink the labour force, make people lazy and create a nanny state, meaning lower economic output and lower tax revenues to invest in the future.

However, this has been debunked tenfold. Having a Ubig would have a positive income effect on the constraints facing poor families, including uninsured risk and credit. Receiving a Ubig can help relax these constraints and help alleviate the stress of living hand to mouth.

The governments messaging during the pandemic attempts to mask its inadequacies: telling South Africans that we are all in this together denies the fact that we have never been in this together.

Unfortunately, South Africa is deeply divided along class, race, and gender lines and the togetherness rhetoric was a thinly veiled attempt to depoliticise the crisis to a mere health crisis that required charity solutions without any perspective on the underlying structural problems that worsen the impact of the pandemic daily. It has been left to non-government and non-profit organisations to take the lead.

The bottom line is that as long as the government refuses to take action to overcome the deep-rooted inequalities in our society, we will continue to have to rely on community projects and organisational outreach for these solutions. Until we see the glaring and devastating effects of income inequality being eradicated, we can only say that 1994 did not give us freedom, equality, or justice only the right to vote. DM/MC

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South African social movements to participate in global Festival to Fight Inequality and push for universal basic income grant - Daily Maverick

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EDMONTON, Alberta, Aug. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Market Research firm Advanis announces the second installment of their Future of Work series, a proprietary study on the Gig Economy Worker in Canada.

Summary

Advanis' survey of 616 Canadians working in gig or freelance roles has shed some light into the profiles and needs of those working in the gig economy, in particular:

Freelancers and Gig Workers are unique in their profiles and motivations.Freelancers tend to be older (40% are 55+), college-educated (77%), with a high income (47% with $100k+), and are more likely to be working gigs out of choice (74%) rather than necessity.

I wanted to exercise my entrepreneurial spirit capabilities and have more control of my time as I was caregiving for my aging parents. - Freelancer (Canada)

Gig Workers tend to be younger (30% 18-34), often with a young family (44%), low income (38% under $50k), and no college degree (39%), and are more likely to be working gigs out of necessity (36%).

I needed more money to pay my student loans, rent, and to feed my family. - Gig Worker (Quebec, Canada)

Freelancers and Gig Workers also show differences in their individual needs for tools to perform their jobs.Their tool needs differ with Freelancers displaying the need for digital tools that help with productivity (61%), collaboration (59%), and security (48%). On the other hand, Gig Workers are putting a higher priority on bookkeeping (29%) and tax tracking services (29%).

Financial instability is one of the biggest concerns regarding gig work.Approximately half of Freelancers (49%) and Gig Workers (53%) are concerned about financial instability. Furthermore, these concerns about financial instability are mostly coming from younger, lower income individuals, who have gigs as their main source of income.

Those concerned about financial stability are more likely to be working gigs out of necessity (41%), leading to a more pessimistic view of gig work overall. This leads to them being less likely to enjoy gig work and or to cite personal fulfillment as an upside of this arrangement. They are also more likely to bring up drawbacks, such as uncertain pay, lack of security, stress, and burnout.

The uncertain income is the biggest downside, and it goes up and down with the seasons, while my bills remain consistent. - Gig Worker (ON, Canada)

Lack of financial stability is leading to a high interest in public and private products that would help bring stability and well-being to Freelancers and Gig Workers.Some of the most missed employment-related benefits coming from Freelancers and Gig Workers are:

79% of those concerned about financial instability are interested in Universal Basic Income (UBI). This program would give every adult citizen a set amount of money on a regular basis and would help settle Freelancers and Gig Workers worries about consistent income and paid time off.

76% of those concerned about financial stability are interested in a Portable Benefits Package. This would be a benefits package owned by the worker and taken to each new job they have, helping bring Freelancers and Gig Workers missed employment-related benefits like Health Insurance and a Retirement Plan.

No benefits. No healthcare. No guarantee of income - Gig Worker (ON, Canada)No Pension - you must save. - Freelancer (BC, Canada)

Difficulty meeting terms for loan applications is higher amongst those concerned about financial stability.Only 20% of Freelancers and 18% of Gig Workers have a business credit card, 7% of Freelancers and 10% of Gig Workers have a business line of credit, and 22% of Freelancers and 29% of Gig Workers do not have a source of credit at all. This inability to obtain business loans is causing workers to use their personal credit to address their business needs.

About AdvanisAdvanis is a privately owned Canadian market and social research firm founded in 1990 and known for its innovation and responsiveness. Advanis engages with key stakeholders to deliver research-based insights and advice that help our clients make sound, fact-based decisions about their most crucial marketing, business, and public policy issues. We serve clients in private and public sectors, focusing on customer experience, product design, pricing, and social research. We offer a comprehensive suite of research services (quantitative, qualitative, and analytics).

For other recent survey publications: https://www.advanis.net/self-sponsored-studiesHeadquarters: Edmonton, AlbertaOther locations: Waterloo, MontralPresident: Michael WilliamsOwnership: Privately ownedEmployees: 50 Full time

Survey MethodologyAn online survey of 616 Canadians and 621 Americans (U.S.), all adults who are currently working as a freelancer or contractor, as a gig worker or platform worker, or on a side hustle for supplementary income, was conducted by Advanis from April 26th to May 17th, 2021. Details are available upon request.

Canadian participants 329 freelancers and 287 other gig workers were recruited using our General Population Random Sample by SMS and completed the survey online. National results for freelancers are accurate to within +/- 5.4%, 19 times out of 20. National results for other gig workers are accurate to within +/- 5.8%, 19 times out of 20. Margin of error is wider among subsets of the population.

For the purpose of this survey, gig refers to work as a freelancer/contractor, as a gig worker/platform worker (e.g., Uber, TaskRabbit, Instacart), or on other side hustle for supplementary income (e.g., Etsy, EBay, sitting jobs, trades). We make a distinction between Gig Workers and Freelancers.Freelancers: those primarily working freelance professional services (e.g., graphic designer, programmer, writer); and Gig Workers: those primarily working gigs such as transportation and delivery services, sitting work, maintenance and handy work, personal assistance services, online content delivery, online or in person retail.

Advanis is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) and confirms that this research fully complies with all CRIC Standards including the CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements.

Contact InformationAnu BhallaSVP Business Developmentanu_bhalla@advanis.net

Follow Advanis on social media:@AdvanisInsights on TwitterAdvanis on LinkedIn

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Both Gig Workers and Freelancers enjoy the flexibility of gig work but miss employment-related benefits that would bring them better financial...

Illustrative image | Source: Bloomberg via Getty Images / Waldo Swiegers

Treasury always says it has to come from the taxpayer it is a great way to make everyone nervous, independent researcher Engenas Senona tells Daily Maverick. He is one of the three authors of a report, launched last week, which looked into how the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant benefited unemployed adults during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The report, commissioned by the Black Sash, is titled Social Protection in a Time of Covid Lessons for Basic Income Support. It should be noted that this research had everything to do with the push from civil society for income support for poor unemployed South Africans and nothing to do with the tragic Free Jacob Zuma looting that occurred just more than a week before the launch.

In fact, the research is based largely on interviews with people who qualified for the SRD grant, conducted in September, October and November 2020. The Black Sash has for years been a loud voice in the call for a basic income grant (BIG) that would help unemployed South Africans between the age of 18 and 59.

The report points out that the government is mandated by the Constitution to implement social assistance where people have no means and that unemployment is not the result of the pandemic but structural disadvantage Even after the post-apartheid transition Despite all the lip service paid to job creation, South Africa never built an economy that could employ all the working-age citizens of the country.

In 1997, a White Paper for Social Welfare called on South Africans to participate in the development of an equitable, people-centred, democratic and appropriate social welfare system.

Then in 2001, the then social development minister, Dr Zola Skweyiya, established the Committee of Inquiry into a Comprehensive Social Security System in South Africa. Its express purpose was to examine the gaps in the current social security system and to make recommendations for the development of an comprehensive system.

The committees report, Transforming the Present Protecting the Future, was delivered to the social development minister and Cabinet in March 2002 and found there was a dire need for a basic income grant because:

The last vestiges of state racial discrimination have subsequently been removed, but a key underlying principle of the old system remains in place, i.e. the assumption that those in the labour force can support themselves through work, and that unemployment is a temporary condition. In reality, those who cannot find work (and who do not, or no longer, qualify for UIF payments) fall through a vast hole in the social safety net.

Existing levels of poverty have reached unsustainable levels and, left unattended, have the potential to reverse democratic gains achieved since 1994. The urgent need to address deepening social exclusion and alienation of those households living in destitution cannot be ignored.

The committee, 2o years ago, also clearly stated:

The committee calls for a basic income grant for all South Africans but finds that the conditions for the immediate implementation of a BIG do not currently exist. It therefore suggests a phased-in approach (2002-2006) From 2006 to 2015 the BIG would be extended to all persons and the means test will fall away.

The argument most often heard against income support which is not the same as a universal grant, meaning it does not cover everyone aged 18 and older unilaterally is that the government does not have the money and that it will come out of the taxpayers pocket. Independent researcher Senona, who worked for the Department of Social Development for almost a decade, says this does not have to be the case. Should Treasury fall short, the worst that would happen, according to his calculations, is that taxpayers in the top brackets might see a 1% to 2% increase in their taxes while people earning up to R350,000 per annum would be unaffected.

Senona says he started out in finance for the department (he is an economics graduate) but soon focused on the child support grant and drafting a number of policies and proposals to amend that grant I was mainly the numbers guy, besides policy. So I ended up costing and running numbers for the other grants as well including the older persons [grant].

A number of these proposals did not make it through or beyond the [department] and Treasury discussions boardroom, but there were a number of proposals made and the BIG was always at the forefront trying to ensure that there is coverage for everyone, particularly the 18- to 59-year-olds.

This age group is important considering high unemployment about 7.2 million South Africans are jobless. Stats SA announced in June 2021: The official unemployment rate was 32,6% in the first quarter of 2021. In addition, the number of discouraged work seekers increased by 201,000. These were people of employable age who had stopped looking for work as their efforts to find a job had been unsuccessful.

In February 2021, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said: We are seeing that the proportion of people of working age, versus the proportion of those that are employed, is widening, meaning that the market is not creating sufficient jobs.

The Covid-19 pandemic has only deepened poverty and joblessness as lockdowns led to people in low-wage jobs being unable to work. Many jobs also disappeared as some sectors were hit hard by long periods of inoperation. Many restaurants and small businesses not only lost staff, but had to close permanently.

Levels of joblessness and poverty in South Africa have not changed since the 2001 committee tasked to look into a BIG for the Department of Social Development affirmed that poverty and joblessness were so dire that the government should hurry up and institute a BIG.

The United Nations Human Development Report 2020 shows the extent of the growing global problem of hunger, and the negative effect the pandemic has had on the world:

the number of people affected by hunger (undernourished people) has been increasing In 2019 the number was 688 million, up 60 million in only five years. Estimates for 2020 (including the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic) range from 780 million to 829 million.

It adds: The Covid-19 pandemic has erased decades of progress in the female labour force participation rate.

The UN report echoes South African civil societys concern around how the pandemic has worsened the economic situation of women, because women and girls are disproportionately affected by shock (like the pandemic) because of their traditional roles and responsibilities, including around three-quarters of unpaid care work at home.

The 1997 White Paper also shows that very little has changed for impoverished South Africans over the past quarter of a century, with women still bearing the brunt: About a third (35,2%) of all South African households, amounting to 18 million people, are living in poverty. African households, households in rural areas, especially those headed by women in rural areas, are the most affected.

The time has come for the government to carry out its constitutional mandate and assist the poor this is the overwhelming message from civil society and the need is clear. But all the parties supporting a basic income grant or basic income support are no longer just clamouring for it, they are demanding it and sending the government financing solutions detailing how this support can be realised.

While the R350 Covid relief grant has been welcomed, the call is for it to be increased to the flood poverty line of R585 and become a permanent income support feature of South African life. The Institute for Economic Justice has also set out a number of ways in which South Africa could afford a universal basic income guarantee it offers 19 recommendations for raising the money, including the reduction of wasteful and irregular expenditure, which could arguably be the number-one method.

On August 2, Daily Mavericks Mfeko Toyana wrote:

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and his team of top National Treasury officials were quick to add that the relief package, which includes the reinstatement of the monthly R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant for the unemployed following significant pressure from civil society, would be temporary, budget neutral, and would not involve any additional borrowing.

Senona reacts to this with a wry chuckle: Treasury is a master of stalling they will say there is no money but when you open up the books then you realise there is money, its just that you dont want to do this. DM

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SA needs income support for 18- to 59-year-olds and Treasury can afford it, say experts - Daily Maverick

A citizens income, basic wage or Universal basic Income (UBI) is a concept of paying everyone in society a universal benefit regardless of income and circumstances.

The main advantage is that ensures a minimum standard of income for everyone without any costs and bureaucracy of means-tested benefits. Also, it avoids the disincentive to work that can occur with means-tested benefits. In times of crisis, a UBI can also provide a social safety net with minimum admin costs.

The disadvantage is that is an expensive undertaking to pay everyone in society a universal benefit and there is a concern it may encourage some to live on benefits without contributing anything useful to society.

A citizens income or universal basic income would primarily be paid for out of general taxation, though in some models it could involve redistributing profits from publicly owned industries.

Under the proposals of Citizens Trust income, benefits should be distributed according to age.0-24 year olds would receive 56.25 per week, 25-64 year olds would receive 71 per week and those 65 and over would receive 142.70 per week.

The citizens income would replace all benefits except disability and housing benefit. The total cost for 2012/13 would be 276n close to the existing annual welfare budget.

It would replace child benefit, income support, JSA, NI and state pensions. It also estimates savings of 10bn from administration of pensions and tax credits.

The interesting thing about a citizens income is that it gains support from both the left and right. The left supports its aim to create a more egalitarian society. There is support from the right who dislike the disincentives and bureaucracy of means tested benefits.

From a personal view, I like it because my lodger is on a zero-hour contract he often doesnt have money to pay rent, but he is not eligible for any benefits. A citizens income would be good to provide a minimum income guarantee.

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Universal basic income - Pros and cons - Economics Help

The Government has committed to prioritise a basic income guarantee pilot scheme for artists.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin said this was the number one recommendation from the sector through the Arts and Culture Recovery task force.

The Minister described the pilot scheme as "unprecedented support" and said it would involve a significant number of artists.

The National Campaign for the Arts described the news of the basic income pilot as a "historic milestone" for artists and arts workers and said it was a reflection of a nation that truly and authentically understands and supports the artistic process.

Chair of the NCFA, Angela Dorgan said that after five years of lobbying, by NCFA members past and present, "myself and the steering committee are thrilled to see a Basic Income pilot for artists and arts workers included in the Economic Recovery Plan 2021".

"We look forward to seeing the details of the pilot as they emerge and continuing to input and advocate for our community," she said.

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Basic income guarantee pilot scheme for the arts sector