Basic Income New Zealand have researched four steps towards a comprehensive universal basic income for consideration and
comment. These four steps represent well researched, tangible and realistic actions that any government could take in
the upcoming term in order to advance this conversation. Basic Income New Zealand have said they are prepared to work
with anyone willing to consider, test and implement universal basic income.
“We should adopt these four steps recommended by BINZ to progress a UBI:
1. Replace the jobseekers benefit with an income neutral UBI;
2. index this UBI by inflation, growth, and increases in productivity;
3. introduce a kids' basic income;
4. expand on the Government's voluntary relocation scheme to make replacing the accommodation supplement more feasible
in the future.”
This statement is currently up for consideration as part of Scoop’s HiveMind discussion on Universal Basic Income (UBI).
You can participate in the conversation to vote on this and other crowdsourced statements now.
These steps are far from radical, they are pragmatic, achievable and most importantly would allow for careful
consideration of associated issues. Such a staged approach to this major policy change is important if we are serious
about ensuring that those most in need are not adversely affected by a sudden transition to a UBI. We hope that this
proposal is given the thought and discussion it deserves from the media and major political parties.
Please read further explanation of these recommendations provided by Basic Income New Zealand (BINZ) below:
1.Turn WINZ into BINZ by introducing an income neutral basic income
- Abolish income support except for accommodation supplements and temporary special payment for child care, disability, and hardship.
- Introduce initial weekly basic income of roughly $200/adult and $100/child.
- Amend Tax rates on earned incomes to maintain income neutrality whatever our present earned income may be or
become.
2.Index the initial basic income with inflation, growth, and (if we choose) increased productivity.
- The extra productivity provision will involve a small annual income redistribution that will need to be funded
from taxation or other sources.
- For example, we could fund a 1.5% annual productivity increase to our basic income with a progressive flat tax
on all earned personal income of about 0.6%/year. This indexation would double the real value of our basic income in 20
years without radical tax changes.
- A progressive indexation could be used purely for redistribution, or also for the eventual replacement of the
Accommodation Supplement.
3.Introduce granting deposits and mortgage guarantees scheme
The largest cost issue for introducing a UBI is incorporating what is covered by the Accommodation Supplement. To
introduce a uniform UBI payment that covers the highest current levels of accommodation support (i.e. in cities like
Auckland) would add significant cost to a UBI scheme. One way to bring down the cost is to reduce the number of people
needing the Supplement who live in those areas.
This could be achieved by granting deposits and mortgage guarantees to families most in need to buy their own home in
lower cost areas. The policy would be an extension of the present government voluntary housing relocation policy but makes it truly worthwhile for families to move.
One astounding advantage to the policy is that it is economically at least 1000% more efficient than the current
supply-side solutions being promoted at the moment to address the housing crisis. Read more on this policy here.
4.Implement a basic income for children
- We could eliminate child poverty in New Zealand (more than a quarter of children live in relative poverty) by
introducing a separate Kids’ Basic Income for all children under the age of 18.
- It could be set at any level using various funding mechanism, but for example, we could fund $30/week for all
children with a one-off progressive flat tax increase on all earned personal income of about 1.17%.
- If a Kids’ Basic Income of $60/week was introduced alongside the indexation of the UBI in step 2 we could
eliminate child poverty in five years.
For further information see the full article by BINZ published last week on Scoop or contact Michael Kane or Lowell Manning at Basic Income New Zealand Incorporated www.basicincomenz.net
Joseph and the HiveMind Team