Harris should stop the cheap shots and get behind a universal basic income

Résumé détaillé

Simon Harris’s plan to penalise the long-term unemployed (“Simon Harris says penalties on the way for those who treat dole as ‘a way of life’”, November 7th) trades on a set of…

Sir, – Simon Harris’s plan to penalise the long-term unemployed (“Simon Harris says penalties on the way for those who treat dole as ‘a way of life’”, November 7th) trades on a set of beliefs that needs to be challenged.

First, that the only way to contribute to society is to have a paid job: what about the unpaid work of parents, other carers and volunteers? Second, that any paid job is better than nothing: what about the exploitative, soul-destroying jobs that so many people are forced into?

Third, that the long-term unemployed are irresponsible chancers, not people who, like everyone else, are doing their best to cope with all the challenges of living.

Fourth, that life on “the dole” is a luxury, when all the evidence shows that social protection payments are below what’s necessary for a decent standard of living.

Advocates of a universal, unconditional basic income have a different vision of a good society. We believe that everyone has a right to their basic needs, some of which should be provided by universal public services, and some by a universal, unconditional basic income.

In this humane, inclusive vision, most adults will of course engage in paid work, because they want to have more than they need, and because they want the other opportunities for a good life that paid work provides.

But they will be free to choose a mix of paid work and other activities, and free to care for others, to say no to exploitation, and to take time out to study, to retrain, to create, to rest and recover, without facing deprivation.

Dozens of pilots of basic income around the world, including the Basic Income for the Arts pilot in Ireland, have demonstrated its advantages to its recipients and to society at large.

Our own research has shown that a universal, unconditional basic income could be introduced in Ireland right now, at zero net cost to the State, through minor adjustments to the existing tax system.

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