Re: “Group wants Nelson considered for basic income” Feb. 23
As promised, the NDP in Victoria is re-hashing the idea of unconditional financial reward, and like-minded activists in Nelson are keen to offer up our community as guinea pig. The concept of giving people money for nothing has been around since Thomas More floated the idea five centuries ago. But despite what the social engineers would have us swallow, it didn’t add up then, and still doesn’t.
Proponents like Nelson councillor Val Warmington are quick to talk about “levelling the playing field” for those struggling to get by. While that sounds noble enough, it disregards the very nature of capitalism, in which struggle, success and failure are key components. It’s the bedrock of Western democracy, and it generates the billions in taxes that already carry those unable or unwilling to work. The notion that guaranteed income provides a springboard to prosperity hinges on the premise that the recipient is eager to search far and wide for meaningful employment, and while that may hold true for some, an ever-growing number appear perfectly content to float on the taxpayer dime.
Four in five Swiss recently rejected guaranteed income in a national referendum. They feared the heavy tax increases that invariably fall hardest on those already burdened, and the inflationary effect “free money” has on local economies. Above all, they chose not to destabilize the basic incentive to work, and thereby alter the social contract of civilized society.
Nothing feels better than helping someone willing to pull on the rope, but a walk downtown on any given day tells me that we need to demand a greater effort (and better behaviour) from many of those asking for help.
When we expect nothing from people, we most often get nothing.
Scott Burrows
Nelson