Well, the basic income or, to be precise, the Universal Unconditional Basic Income. The first time I heard about it was a little while ago in an episode of VPRO´s Tegenlicht (VPRO is a broadcaster on the Dutch public broadcasting system). The program is a documentary series, the name translates as Backlight.

Let me be frank here, I am not qualified at all in any relevant way other than being a Dutch citizen and therefore a part of this wealthy society. And I do not have the impression that our current system is doing what it is supposed to be doing. That is, among other things, ensuring liberty and social security for all citizens alike. Oh, the political establishment is trying but for the last couple of decades it all just boils down to a bandaidlaw here and an ointmentregulation there, with the inevitable consequence that our governmental bureaucracy has become such a untenable, inhumane, inflexible, unaffordable and repressive monstrosity that it makes me blush with embarrassment. And all based on the idiotic assumption that there are jobs for all. Those who make such a claim without wincing really have shit for brains.

The majority of corporations are not at all interested in creating employment opportunities. Short term profitmaximization is the word of the day. This shortsightedness prevents them from realizing that increasing numbers of people will become unable to afford the products or services they provide.

Add to that the fact that politics are skewed by a relatively small group of very big industries who can afford to spend huge amounts of capital on professional lobbyists and are consequently exerting, mostly outside the public democratic arena, an inordinate amount of influence that is definitely not aimed towards the wellbeing of all. Some of the more obvious, but by no means the only, examples are the fossil fuel, pharmaceutical and tobacco industries.

This basic income seemed an intrigueing idea to me so I set out to do some reading up on it and boy, I found so much that eventually some smoke started curling up from my eyeballs. Newspapers, blogs, opinion magazines, scientific publications, social media, you name it. Although, the odd exception notwithstanding, the Dutch mainstream public broadcasters seem to generate a deafening silence on the subject.

Now if you expect me to share with you here why I am for and not against, you are going to be disappointed. It seems a better idea if you undertake your own search and, after some objective and openminded cogitation, form your own opinion.

What I will do is respond to a small number of questions that I´ve come across in my search, and that had also risen in my mind, that I think are based on ignorance and selective reading. Questions that I think have been answered. Well, to my satisfaction at least.

It seems to be necessary since most naysayers seem to react purely from the underbelly without actually doing some extensive reading. And if they have, it seems they have read only that of which title, headline or general tone already conform to their own prejudices. Authors of such articles or `experts´ quoted are uncritically categorized as `decisive authority´ while those who disagree are, without any objectivity and without comprehensively reading of their arguments, dismissed with derision.

So, here goes!

We´ll never be able to afford it?

Such a basic income, universal and unconditional, will only work if it is accompanied by a taxingsystem that is based on new paradigms. Not taxes on income from paid labor but based on use of resource materials, pollutants, luxury consumptiongoods and yes, capital and profits. These last two do not have to be determined by unreasonable and draconian percentages, no rich person would have to forego a single spoonful of caviar, if they are established through fair and well-thoughtout progressive taxscales.

Add to that the savings achieved by downsizing the control, tracking and sanctioning bureaucracy that is currently desperately and in vain trying to implement our social security systems. The cost of all that is really bloodcurdling.

It would also help if the financial focus were to shift from perceived `predicted´ growth to actual productivity. As far as I am concerned the economy should not function as a gambling hall, even more so because, if it goes wrong, the burden of footing the bill is always shifted to society as a whole and not on those that gambled badly. And conversely, if it doesn´t go wrong it´s never society that benefits but just the lucky gamblers.

What about my pension?

You don´t actually have to worry about your pension because you´ll receive your basic income till the day you die. Obviously it would be wise to use some of the income that you generate on top of your basic income during your working life to ensure you can live through an unencumbered and enjoyable old age. The method you employ to achieve that is up to you. And for those of us who have, up until the moment basic income is implemented, already accumulated a pension through for instance a collective pensionfunding insurance of some kind, well I don´t think anything would have to change. You might end up with more options in how much you put in before you retire or how much and how often you receive your payments when your time for retirement comes. Ofcourse all this also depends on how this is currently organised in your country.

Will there be any money left for healthcare?

As I understand it, which is in broad terms only, cost of healthcare will go down. Every experiment I´ve come across of any kind of basic income, did show a some measure of decrease in costs. Apparently poverty and anxiety about financial security for ourselves and our loved ones generate some degree of health problems, both physically and mentally. Kind of makes sense to me.

Additional healthcare insurances would also become more affordable to all who can work for pay. Grants or subsidies, including a little extra so they too could have some measure of luxury, would only be needed by those that cannot work and/or have special needs. Also, when people live in financial security, more of them will be willing and able to combine paid parttimejobs with voluntary unpaid work to the benefit of society. That is something that is growing even now under relatively unfavourable circumstances.

Surely nobody would work anymore?

Yeah right. Would you quit your job? Be sure to realise that you would condemn yourself to a life of lounging about on the couch. All day, every day. You would be miserable quite soon, because on your basic income you would not be able to afford any luxuries worth mentioning, that´s what the `basic´ stands for. Just imagine, no limitless beer and crisps, no expensive trendy clothing, no new tv, no car, ultimately not even a new couch. Not to mention the latest gadgets, no afternoon in the sun at a cafe terrace or a vacation. Would you really choose that? If so, you´re perfectly entitled to do so, you won´t freeze in winter, you won´t starve and you wouldn´t have to go around bucknaked and that would be all your life would be. Enjoy! But if you expect or demand more in your life, you´ll still have to work for it. How you do it and how much is entirely up to you. But you can spend your earnings and the leisure time you choose to have anyway you like, lazing around, study, perhaps use your hobbies to generate more income, giving the people around you a hand where needed, whatever you want. And all the time you can rest assured that you will never fall into poverty. I think that is worth quite a great deal.

Concluding, for the experts.

To speak of the numbers, the costs, profits and ratio´s now would be pointless. Most of us, including myself, are patently unqualified to do so. The same thing goes for mapping out the sociological, psychological and health related consequences it would bring. But for you experts, now is the time to start doing serious and openminded objective research. Not building a case for your gutfelt, dogmatic negative impulses that you may well have, but looking for the how and the what, looking for ways to make it work.

Concluding again, for all of us.

It does sound like Utopia, doesn´t it? But that is not a bad thing. The abolition of slavery and child labor were once seen as Utopia, just like votingrights for the poor or the women and the 8 hour working day. Yet all those things have been accomplished and have enriched and improved our societies. To start screaming “That´s impossible so I am against!” without reading up about it just because some perceived `authority´ dismisses something offhand is not witty or clever. It is cowardly narrowminded.

The search must be on for ways to make it work, the current system once started as a good idea and indeed, in some respects it has brought us much. But now it is outdated, insufficient and rigid. It has become twisted and corrupted by greed and avarice. It is time to join technological innovation with economic and societal innovation. It is entirely possible that an unconditional basic income might turn out to be the right replacement for the current disfunctional system.

All over the world pilotschemes have already been conducted, many are in progress or are being planned. Today in the Netherlands an increasing number of municipalities are discussing options for experimenting with some form of basic income and I think that´s a good thing. Even though these will only involve a limited number of people who are currently dependant on social security welfare benefits and will therefore probably mainly answer the question of what choices these people are going to make. Whether this will tell us much about other effects I don´t know. There is only one way of finding out and that is simply trying it. So praise be to those municipalities and local initiators.

Let me once again reiterate that I am not professionally qualified and so this essay will undoubtedly contain statements that you, whether you are for or against, will think are complete and utter bullshit. For that, allow me to unequivocally and humbly apologise, I am after all just an ordinary human being attempting to distill order out of chaos.

Also, be aware that English is not my native language so cut me some slack there too please.

Martien de Graaf