10 signatures reached
To: Stephen Crabb MP, Work and Pensions Minister.
Basic Income , Less Bureaucracy More Social Justice.
Please wipe out a huge amount of DWP bureaucracy and related costs to the state through a simple basic income for all, regardless of their financial circumstances, that covers basic housing, utilities and food. This will deliver dignity and social justice to all citizens as a right. People whose earnings far exceed their efforts would simply have part of their excess earnings recovered through higher rate taxation.
Why is this important?
This needs to be done, would be simple to implement and would have many positive advantages over our current system of grudgingly given welfare benefits many of which are not claimed due to stigmatisation issues and lack of awareness. The advantages include:
A basic citizen's income would be a hand up, a platform to launch your career from , to potentially do well and contribute to improving the quality of society through income tax. There may well be a backlash one day as the gap between rich and poor continues to increase, this idea would avoid social unrest, possible revolution and bloodshed.
Vast swathes of DWP expense could be abolished except for special circumstances where people because of disability need a small citizen's income supplement to support their extra basic living costs.
The economy would be stimulated by the extra demand and productivity created by the poorest in society having slightly more money to spend and invest in small enterprises. The 'feel good factor' would be promoted by a basic income as a right for all. People would have financial stability and be able to plan and make effective decisions for their futures, unclouded by fear and worry.
Reduced/abolished poverty through a basic income would lead to reduction in homelessness, begging and crime and its related costs to the police and justice system. The dignity of every citizen would be be restored, the motive for petty crime removed.
Greatly reduced levels of clinical depression, alcoholism and stress related health issues with a commensurate saving to our NHS.
The onus would no longer be on the poor to prove they are not benefits cheats but the focus will be moved to the rich to prove they are not avoiding taxation and cheating their fellow citizens. The era of stigmatisation of the poor and turning a blind eye to the far bigger crimes of the rich will come to an end.
The need for charities where those at top of an organisation make an excellent living off the back of volunteers would also greatly be reduced. People generally don't want to receive charity and feel patronised by and obligated to some individual or organisation. A basic income as a citizen's right would help to negate the reason for charity organisations in all but the most extreme cases and causes.
The current system of working tax credits and universal credit is a system that subsidises the meanest paying employers not the poverty struck employees. A basic income would force employers to pay fairer wages for unattractive and unpleasant jobs.
How it will be delivered
E mail signatures to Stephen Crabb's office.
