Global basic income. A quarter of a euro a day for everyone

A global basis income of 'a quarter of a euro a day for everyone' is an ambition that can be as attractive and convincing as were former demands like the eight-hour working day, universal suffrage for men and women or the abolition of slavery.

The income gap between the rich and the poor is astonishing. Twenty percent of the world's population living in the richest countries have 74 times the income of the poorest. This gap is huge, it is relatively new and, what's even more amazing, it is still widening.
Yet the average world income per capita and per year is roughly five thousand euro. If that income were spread a little bit more evenly, everyone would have enough to live on. But we all know that this is not the case. How can we do better?

Well paid labour in decent working conditions is still the best way to earn a living. In many countries it would be possible to procure labour and income to numerous people if landownership were more evenly spread in combination with a sustainable use of fields, grasslands, forests and waters. As far as employment and income growth are concerned intelligent industrialisation using ecologically sound technology can work miracles. Genuine free trade, benefiting every trading party, also adds to the distribution of wealth.

But even so, lots of people will not earn enough to meet their basic needs. Which brings us to the notion of 'basic income', an income for every person from birth till death, no strings attached.
Every now and then proposals for a basic income pop up in some affluent societies with people arguing that it is affordable. Does that mean that a basic income is only for rich societies? At first sight that may seem so. But if we look at the world globally and use our imagination and our brains, we end up with a proposal that is provocatively realistic : a global basic income of a quarter of a euro a day for every human being.

What would it cost? We are six billion people on earth, so we would need 547.5 billion euro a year. Is that much? Not really, because world income is more than fifty times higher. A two percent taxation of the world product is more than enough to give every world citizen that basic income.
For rich people, mainly living in Europe, North America and East Asia, a quarter of a euro a day is of course peanuts. Yet they have to get it as well. It will remind them of the fact that many others have to live on almost nothing.
And for a few billion people it will mean a world of difference. In the poorest countries a quarter of a euro a day would at least double the income of most people. Even where the per capita income is higher, in countries like India, China and others, many hundreds of millions of ordinary citizens would significantly increase their resources. For them too such a basic income would not be a trifle.

One could argue that a quarter of a euro is not enough to escape poverty. This needs clarification.
Firstly, the basic income has to be added to the (often meagre) earnings people already have. It's not a substitute for well remunerated work.
Secondly, increased purchasing power will bring an enormous boost to local economies, creating more employment and thus extra income. What is more, the introduction of a basic income will make it possible to fight poverty efficiently: more evenly divided purchasing power will satisfy the immense needs of fresh water, food, housing and education. The basic income is a driving force for a powerful social economy.
Thirdly, nothing stops us from redistributing not only two but four or more percent of the world income.
Fourthly, local authorities will of course still be responsible for health care, education, land redistribution, water supply, roads, public transport, and so on.
Fifthly, international co-operation is needed if we want to make headway in matters like tackling the greenhouse effect, building sustainable economies in a short period of time, suppressing child labour and enforcing social rules, stopping war and violence to make the world a safer place, controlling speculative and disruptive flows of capital and guaranteeing a basic income for everyone.

This is the broader framework the basic income has to be seen against and in which it can trigger off a development model that is both sustainable and a means to wipe out poverty. What's more, 'a quarter of a euro a day' is an ambition that can be as attractive and convincing as were former demands like the eight-hour working day, universal franchise for men and women or the abolition of slavery.

There is, however, one condition: this basic income has to be guaranteed. This really seems a task for the United Nations, not an easy one, for sure, but certainly easier than the many futile attempts to develop the world through ever failing development programs.
The United Nations could thus become a real instrument of income redistribution in our world. At the same time the United Nations guard the first human right of everyone, the right to exist.

I realise that the idea of a global basic income may seem 'too simple' a solution. But I am convinced that it can work and, more importantly, I do not see any and I don't hear of fundamental obstacles. It's simply a matter of putting it into practice.
Even if we are not able to introduce it on a global scale right away – which is to be expected because humankind is always slow at picking the best solutions - there is no reason why we could not start implementing a global basic income on a more limited scale. We could for example consider bilateral agreements between development ministries and poor rural regions to guarantee a basic income for all inhabitants of that region. What are they waiting for, the people who are responsible for international co-operation in rich and poor countries, in the European Union, UNDP, the World Bank and other organisations? What are they waiting for, all those who bear political responsibility, on whatever level be it, local, regional, national or international? Who's in?

Dirk Barrez