The Parliamentary Budget Officer did a report on what it would cost for a Basic Income during the COVID19 Pandemic.
This report was done in June 2020, it has 3 Scenarios that differ between an income cap of $30,000, $70,000 and $120,000 household income.
Province | Scenario 1 | Scenario 2 | Scenario 3 | Current Prov. Social Assistance Recipients | Lowest Change % | Middle Change % | Highest Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AB | 864,000 | 1,619,000 | 2,354,000 | 111,382 | 775.71% | 1453.56% | 2113.45% |
BC | 1,015,000 | 1,929,000 | 2,604,000 | 160,391 | 632.83% | 1202.69% | 1623.53% |
MB | 270,000 | 515,000 | 699,000 | 39,723 | 679.71% | 1296.48% | 1759.69% |
NB | 130,000 | 258,000 | 368,000 | 18,206 | 714.05% | 1417.12% | 2021.31% |
NFD | 81,000 | 139,000 | 204,000 | 19,735 | 410.44% | 704.33% | 1033.70% |
NS | 196,000 | 340,000 | 463,000 | 26,131 | 750.07% | 1301.14% | 1771.84% |
ON | 3,440,000 | 6,010,000 | 7,975,000 | 551,417 | 623.85% | 1089.92% | 1446.27% |
PEI | 31,000 | 59,000 | 81,000 | 3,597 | 861.83% | 1640.26% | 2251.88% |
QC | 1,831,000 | 3,396,000 | 4,566,000 | 275,183 | 665.38% | 1234.09% | 1659.26% |
SASK | 212,000 | 396,000 | 572,000 | 38,075 | 556.80% | 1040.05% | 1502.30% |
Canada | 8,070,000 | 14,661,000 | 19,886,000 | 1,243.840 | 667.06% | 1237.96% | 2262.61% |
Those 3 Scenarios were each described to have a means-tested claw back of 50%, 25%, and 15% respectively. The 15% is what caught the attention. Could that really be the big ticket to a successful Basic Income? Would it include the Middle Class? 20,100,000 Canadians is what the PBO projected it would help. Bingo. This is what we need.
The report can be found here
The 5 Year Costing Outlook Update was in November, 2020 and it can be found here
Features of 15% Claw back
By using a 15% claw back rate instead of the traditional 50% to 100% it removes the disincentive to work. No longer are people weighing how much they spend to go to work versus staying home in order to keep a budget, but the Basic Income gives them the power to move past the traditional 40-100% of income to rent/mortgage.
75% of LIM (Poverty Line)
Basic Income is a Social Services Reform ADVANTAGE. It gives the Provincial Governments the chance to redevelop the now broken system, into one that involves Benefits, Work Supports, & Extra help instead of month after month drain on provincial workers who can be retrained into Mental Health, Housing, and other initiatives at the provincial level while helping fight starvation levels.
