Almost 50 years ago, a Canadian Senate report declared that a basic income \u201cis an idea whose time has come.\u201d Ever since, the idea has resurfaced every so often, with support that spans the political spectrum.<\/p>\n
A recent Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) report reinvigorated the debate by estimating the cost of a particular version of a basic income program. Proponents, including National Post columnist Andrew Coyne<\/a>, go so far as to claim a basic income will end poverty. That is an oversimplification and, in our view, an unconditional basic income is a bad idea whose time should never come.<\/p>\n In theory, a basic income would replace the existing web of income-support programs (welfare, the GST tax credit, Old Age Security, employment insurance, etc.) with a single simple program that provides a cash transfer to Canadians. The PBO\u2019s version is based on a pilot program currently taking place in Ontario and would provide a maximum unconditional cash transfer of $16,989 for single Canadians (couples would receive $24,027).<\/p>\n There are several reasons why this is a bad idea.<\/p>\n