A Basic Income Handbook

Listening as I do to France Culture on the road, I have heard more than one programme discussing the viability of a basic income scheme, especially in the light of the impending impact of automation on employment. Annie Miller is an economist who has been involved in the development of basic income schemes for more than 30 years, and here she provides a comprehensive handbook for both general and specialist readers. The other significant element of background is that she is a Quaker with a commitment to social justice. The starting point of the book is a new vision of society based on compassion, justice, trust and hope - the first two qualities are on the Scottish Parliamentary mace, in addition to wisdom and integrity. The idea behind basic income is that every adult receives a regular, unconditional, cash payment on an individual basis delivered automatically to one's personal account; importantly, this universality means that domestic work is implicitly recognised, and, at best, such schemes provide some degree of security and an encouragement for people to engage their creative capacities. They can also address inequality, if combined with vertical redistribution of wealth - our current system is a trickle up, and has been exacerbated by recent austerity measures disproportionately hitting the poor.

Any and every question that the reader might ask about basic income is raised and addressed in this comprehensive book. Basic income provides an alternative to the current Social Security system, which the author considers unfit for purpose. She goes through philosophical and political arguments, moving on to theory and evidence including such issues as eligibility, entitlement, conditionality and administration – she also gives examples of pilot schemes from around the world. The third part looks at the economic viability of basic income schemes, with a wealth of facts, figures and charts. This would inevitably involve restructuring the tax system, and there is an interesting chart showing total UK tax take as part of the background to discussion. Finally, the author looks at how we get from here to there in terms of policy options and implementation. In every case, there have to be objectives, assumptions and constraints. The comprehensive and balanced approach makes the book required reading for economists and policymakers, as well as interested general readers looking for an in-depth treatment of basic income, and also provides a way of transforming the values basis of our society in a more positive direction.