Testing Different Routes to a Basic Income Scheme

Abstract

This article will explore a variety of aspects of the recent debate on Basic Income, particularly in relation to the United Kingdom; it will discuss financial feasibility; describe a variety of feasibility tests; and describe several different routes that Basic Income might take from concept to implementation: a) `replacement' - a Basic Income for everyone legally resident in a country, implemented all in one go, with at the same time the abolition of the existing social security system; b) `alongside' - a Basic Income for everyone legally resident, implemented all in one go, with the existing social security system retained and modified; c) `single age group' - a Basic Income for everyone in a particular age group, followed by other age groups; d) `pilot project' - a Basic Income for a representative sample of a country's population, followed by extension to the whole population; and e) `single age group pilot project' - a Basic Income for a representative sample of one age group, followed by extension to the whole of the age group, and then to other age groups. General descriptions of the different routes will be accompanied by descriptions of what they might look like in the United Kingdom, and by discussions of their feasibilities. An indication is given as to how the findings might relate to Australia.