One of the first things Doug Ford did when he came to office was to break a campaign promise and cancel Ontario's Basic Income Project. Laurie Monsebraaten reports:
Under the pilot project, launched by the former Liberal government in April 2017, single people such as Miller have been receiving annual payments of up to $16,989, while couples have been getting up to $24,027. Those with disabilities got a $6,000 top-up. Payments are reduced by 50 cents for every dollar earned until incomes reach $34,000 for singles and about $48,000 for couples.
Participants receive their last payment at the end of March — barely 18 months after most began receiving the extra money — and before the government was able to do any followup studies. The project’s goal was to determine whether regular, unconditional payments improve housing, health, education, employment and social outcomes for people living on social assistance or low-wage jobs in an efficient and non-stigmatizing way.
When Ford cancelled the project, the data that had been gathered was flushed. Now a survey done by The Basic Income Canada Network is trying to recover some of that data:
“Responses (from the survey) show that the pilot was working — enabling women and men to get and keep jobs, pursue education and training, overcome barriers and improve health and well-being for themselves and their families,” said {Sheila] Regehr, whose non-profit network has been advocating for a national basic income for more than a decade.
The network identified survey participants through an online petition to save the pilot project last summer. Of 30,000 people who signed, 1,500 indicated they were getting the basic income and would be open to further advocacy.
The network’s 22-question survey asked participants how the extra money was impacting their employment, education, food security, finances, plans for the future, mobility, health and social inclusion.
When they enrolled in the project, most participants said they were experiencing stress, struggling to pay rent and having trouble affording healthy food, according to an intake survey, the only official data collected before the project was cancelled.
The network’s followup poll found basic income eased those pressures for most respondents.
For example, about 88 per cent reported experiencing less stress and 73 per cent said they suffered less depression. That compares to 81 per cent at the start of the project who told government researchers they were suffering from moderate to severe psychological stress.
But, of course, that kind of data doesn't mean anything to Doug Ford. A Guaranteed Income isn't a new idea. Like the The Canada Pension Plan and the Baby Bonus, it serves as an economic stabilizer to smooth out economic shocks.
But economic stability is beyond Doug Ford's pay grade. Does that sound like anyone else you have heard of?
Image: Twitter
2 comments:
In reading the story this morning, Owen, I once more thought that Canadians have to ask themselves a fundamental question: What kind of a society do you want to live in? Is it one that fosters increasing inequality, or one that you are willing to pay a little more for so that everyone can enjoy a life that provides a measure of dignity and freedom from significant deprivation?
There are answers to the problems that plague our world, but perhaps collective indifference to suffering is the one that needs to be addressed first.
More and more, Lorne, I see Ayn Rand's influence on public policy. Its basic principle is that selfishness is a virtue.
Post a Comment