Basic Income Guarantee

Abstract

The Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) is a government-ensured guarantee that no one's income will fall below the level necessary to meet their most basic needs. As Bertrand Russell put it in 1918, "A certain small income, sufficient for necessities, should be secured for all, whether they work or not". Thus, with BIG no one is destitute but everyone has the positive incentive to work. Supporters of BIG see it as an effective and equitable solution to poverty that promotes individual freedom. BIG is also affordable; Charles Clark estimates that a flax tax of 38% would be enough to support all existing government spending (aside from that which would be replaced by BIG) and a BIG large enough to eliminate poverty (as defined in the United States).