A combination of economic uncertainty and political possibility is giving new life to an old policy idea

In Ottawa, a federal MP is pushing for government research on the subject.

Ontario's provincial budget announced a pilot program to try it out. In Quebec, a cabinet minister has been assigned to study the topic.

The mayors of Calgary and Edmonton are both on board. And the Manitoba Liberals are promising their own trial if they win the April 19 provincial election.

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Also known as guaranteed minimum income, universal income, guaranteed annual income, or a negative income tax, basic income is a social policy that would supplant various welfare programs by providing a baseline amount of money to all citizens, regardless of whether they work or meet a means test.

cont'd...

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/basic-income-interest-1.3479079

Free money for all could jumpstart the economy: Don Pittis

If someone handed you a bundle of free cash, would you stop working?

Perhaps that's what has happened to our economy. As governments create more and more free money — in the form of no-interest loans — and inject it into the financial system, companies have stopped investing in the future.

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"If you need an explanation for why the top 0.1 per cent is doing so well," says Luce, that is where to look. Luce's solution is to change the rules so that executive earnings are based on something other than short-term share prices.


That's one solution. But a bunch of very smart people think there is another way to solve our economic problems in Europe and North America: Stop handing out free money just to rich people, and instead start handing it out to everyone.

cont'd...

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/free-money-for-all-could-jumpstart-the-economy-don-pittis-1.2775647