Basic Income Supplement: Beginning with Persons with Disabilities
Preamble
WHEREAS it is estimated that presently 1 in 9 Canadians live in poverty, including one in four persons with disabilities;
WHEREAS it has been recognized for some decades that a Basic Income Supplement (BIS) is the most efficient way to reduce poverty;
WHEREAS the cost of poverty in Canada is estimated at $79 billion to $95 billion per year, with a welfare system that is recognized as effectively broken with perverse disincentives for exiting;
WHEREAS a Basic Income Supplement (BIS) has been endorsed by many in the medical profession and political leaders such as former Senator Hugh Segal and Senator Arthur Eggleton, all the while recognizing the correlation between poverty and health, and poverty and lower life expectancy, as being profound and incontrovertible;
WHEREAS there have been a number of Basic Income projects already undertaken around the world, including the pilot project of a Basic Income Supplement conducted jointly by the Governments of Manitoba and Canada in Dauphin, Manitoba, in the 1970s, and since Canada already has experience with basic income programs for seniors and children;
WHEREAS Canada, by ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), has undertaken to adopt measures to continuously improve the living conditions of Persons with Disabilities;
Operative
BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Canada advocate for the gradual implementation of a federal Basic Income Supplement for Canadians, beginning immediately with Persons with Disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64 inclusive, as identified by the Government of Canada.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that once started, expansion is to be done concurrently in consultation with provinces and territories for the gradual reduction of competing and overlapping welfare payments for income support.
Background
This initiative focuses on taking action to address social justice, one of our fundamental Green values
(http://www.greenparty.ca/party/documents/constitution#socialjustice).
The intent is to build broad, grassroots support in order to pressure the Federal Government to initiate an immediate Basic Income Supplement (BIS) for Persons with Disabilities as the first step in a program to assist Canadians living below the poverty line. Our former policy (G08-P503 for a Guaranteed Liveable Income), is too ambitious as a starting point.
A BIS is a direct way to dramatically reduce poverty by providing direct financial assistance for basic needs. It is an income unconditionally granted to all on an individual basis, without the current stigmatizing means test or work requirement. It is a form of minimum income guarantee that differs from current welfare benefits.
• It is paid to individuals rather than to households;
• To apply, recipients do not have to undertake a complex or burdensome process, have interviews or take a means test;
• Availability is irrespective of income from any other sources, but benefit is limited by appropriate claw-back tax regulation.
There is considerable evidence that cash grants to people below the poverty line actually reduce the welfare mentality by providing recipients with flexibility to manage their own lives and help restore their dignity.
The cost of poverty reduction programs and health care continues to expand while the level of poverty is growing. Some economists are now telling us “we cannot afford poverty anymore”; it is estimated that up to 50% of health costs for the most impoverished are due to lack of money for basic needs.
The BIS as planned will take the first visible step for federal leadership in developing a National Poverty Reduction Program. BIS does not require further studies or pilots but can be based on existing data. No new legislation is required. By beginning with limited funds (an estimated $3B), immediate changes to current programs are unnecessary. Expansion will then be designed in collaboration with other levels of government.
Rather than assisting the wealthy through an Income Splitting program, the BIS focuses on helping the most vulnerable in our society.
(The BIS Green Paper to follow should be read in conjunction with this Backgrounder to better understand the complexity of poverty, the issues surrounding it and their solutions.)
Code
Proposal Type
Submitter Name
Party Commentary
The motion is consistent and complementary with earlier approved policy. A guaranteed federal income supplement already exist for senior, this motion would extend the income supplement to all canadians that require it, beginning with persons with disabilities. Green Policy already calls for a Guaranteed livable income for persons with disabilities, this motion would be a step in the same direction. Green policy also calls for an increase in the amount of the current guaranteed income supplement.
Preamble
WHEREAS it is estimated that presently 1 in 9 Canadians live in poverty, including one in four persons with disabilities;
WHEREAS it has been recognized for some decades that a Basic Income Supplement (BIS) is the most efficient way to reduce poverty;
WHEREAS the cost of poverty in Canada is estimated at $79 billion to $95 billion per year, with a welfare system that is recognized as effectively broken with perverse disincentives for exiting;
WHEREAS a Basic Income Supplement (BIS) has been endorsed by many in the medical profession and political leaders such as former Senator Hugh Segal and Senator Arthur Eggleton, all the while recognizing the correlation between poverty and health, and poverty and lower life expectancy, as being profound and incontrovertible;
WHEREAS there have been a number of Basic Income projects already undertaken around the world, including the pilot project of a Basic Income Supplement conducted jointly by the Governments of Manitoba and Canada in Dauphin, Manitoba, in the 1970s, and since Canada already has experience with basic income programs for seniors and children;
WHEREAS Canada, by ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), has undertaken to adopt measures to continuously improve the living conditions of Persons with Disabilities;
Operative
BE IT RESOLVED that the Green Party of Canada advocate for the gradual implementation of a federal Basic Income Supplement for Canadians, beginning immediately with Persons with Disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64 inclusive, as identified by the Government of Canada.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that once started, expansion is to be done concurrently in consultation with provinces and territories for the gradual reduction of competing and overlapping welfare payments for income support.
Sponsors
Background
This initiative focuses on taking action to address social justice, one of our fundamental Green values
(http://www.greenparty.ca/party/documents/constitution#socialjustice).
The intent is to build broad, grassroots support in order to pressure the Federal Government to initiate an immediate Basic Income Supplement (BIS) for Persons with Disabilities as the first step in a program to assist Canadians living below the poverty line. Our former policy (G08-P503 for a Guaranteed Liveable Income), is too ambitious as a starting point.
A BIS is a direct way to dramatically reduce poverty by providing direct financial assistance for basic needs. It is an income unconditionally granted to all on an individual basis, without the current stigmatizing means test or work requirement. It is a form of minimum income guarantee that differs from current welfare benefits.
• It is paid to individuals rather than to households;
• To apply, recipients do not have to undertake a complex or burdensome process, have interviews or take a means test;
• Availability is irrespective of income from any other sources, but benefit is limited by appropriate claw-back tax regulation.
There is considerable evidence that cash grants to people below the poverty line actually reduce the welfare mentality by providing recipients with flexibility to manage their own lives and help restore their dignity.
The cost of poverty reduction programs and health care continues to expand while the level of poverty is growing. Some economists are now telling us “we cannot afford poverty anymore”; it is estimated that up to 50% of health costs for the most impoverished are due to lack of money for basic needs.
The BIS as planned will take the first visible step for federal leadership in developing a National Poverty Reduction Program. BIS does not require further studies or pilots but can be based on existing data. No new legislation is required. By beginning with limited funds (an estimated $3B), immediate changes to current programs are unnecessary. Expansion will then be designed in collaboration with other levels of government.
Rather than assisting the wealthy through an Income Splitting program, the BIS focuses on helping the most vulnerable in our society.
(The BIS Green Paper to follow should be read in conjunction with this Backgrounder to better understand the complexity of poverty, the issues surrounding it and their solutions.)
Party Commentary
The motion is consistent and complementary with earlier approved policy. A guaranteed federal income supplement already exist for senior, this motion would extend the income supplement to all canadians that require it, beginning with persons with disabilities. Green Policy already calls for a Guaranteed livable income for persons with disabilities, this motion would be a step in the same direction. Green policy also calls for an increase in the amount of the current guaranteed income supplement.