Ottawa, Canada. In response to liberal democracies seeking income equality, the Canadian government in a new test program, is providing 4000 citizens with a minimum amount to see if a universal income can become a reality for all Canadian citizens.
Premier Kathleen Wynne outlined new details of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot, which is expected to begin later this spring and last for three years. A total of 4,000 people in three regions in the province will begin receiving additional income based on their current salary.
Finland, the Netherlands, and San Francisco, California, have already shown interest in giving people a regular monthly allowance,a system known as basic income. Now Ontario, Canada, is planning a minimum basic income trial as well.
Canadian citizens in the trial can receive up to $16,989 a year, though the equivalent of 50% of any additional earned income will be subtracted from that figure. So a person who makes $10,000 a year at their job, for example, would receive $11,989 in basic income, for a total income of $21,989.
Eligible recipients, who must be between 18 and 64 and considered low-income, will be chosen through a randomized selection process.
Finland’s government launched its pilot on January 1 and is giving 2,000 unemployed Finns $590 a month. In various cities throughout the Netherlands, 250 people will soon receive an extra $1,100 a month for two years.
A report published in late 2016 found that people who received unconditional cash transfers used drugs and alcohol less frequently than people who didn’t receive the money. Many would like to assume free money would make people lazy, research suggests the opposite is true. People in one 2013 study worked on average 17% longer and received 38% higher earnings when they got a basic income.