Because someone’s Basic Income would never be taken away, it would

provide a secure financial platform to build on

enable the employment market to become more flexible at the same time as enhancing income security

give to everyone more choices over the number of hours for which they were employed

enable carers to balance their caring and other responsibilities

make it easier to start new businesses or to go self-employed, and

encourage personal freedom, creativity, and voluntary activity

Because everyone would get a Basic Income, it would

create social cohesion, and

carry no stigma

Because the Basic Income would never be withdrawn, it would

reduce the poverty trap for low income families, enabling them to lift themselves out of poverty by seeking new skills, better jobs, or additional hours of employment

reduce the unemployment trap, so getting a job would always mean additional disposable income

Because Basic Income would be simple and efficient, it would

be easy to understand

be cheap to administer and easy to automate

not be prone to errors or fraud

Many current benefits system are no longer fit for purpose. They assume that everyone has a stable single employment, that household structures don’t change, and that individuals’ circumstances change very rarely. Our lives are no longer like that: and as technology and the employment market continue to change, our benefits systems will become even less appropriate.

In a context of rapid change, the only useful system is a simple one. A Basic Income is as simple as it gets.

For a list of 101 reasons for a Basic Income, see Malcolm Torry’s book, 101 Reasons for a Citizen’s Income.