Regardless of who we are, most of us can agree that everyone deserves to live a decent life.
This means ensuring we can all afford our basic needs, like putting food on the table and having a safe place to call home.
But the pandemic has shown that our society doesn’t provide for everyone.
Canada’s wealth has soared even as we’ve let inequality grow. [1]
If the government provided a regular, no-strings payment to everyone in Canada who needed it — a guaranteed, livable basic income — we could help close the gap. And create jobs and grow our economy at the same time. [2]
It’s the right thing to do.
But there’s a small, powerful group of politicians and wealthy CEOs who are clinging to the broken system of the past. [3]
They’re ignoring the signs that something needs to change, now — even if it means that the people who need it most will go without support.
Leadnow has put together a plan for a massive basic income campaign — to unite behind our shared vision of a future where everyone has enough.
Maintaining the status quo is incredibly expensive.
Poverty costs the government a staggering $72-86 billion every year. With the pandemic forcing businesses to close and putting people’s jobs at risk, the gaps in our social safety net are widening. [4][5]
A basic income would help close the gaps by radically simplifying access to income support. It’d provide everyone in Canada who needs it with a regular payment, regardless of work status.
It would help make our economy more resilient, so that if more businesses are forced to close, workers can still feed their families and pay their bills during difficult times.
We know basic income works.
A basic income trial in Manitoba had positive physical and mental health benefits — and high school graduation rates improved, too.
A recent Ontario pilot helped people buy food, participate in training, and pay their bills. And new research shows that basic income could lift millions of people out of poverty, while boosting the economy by $80 billion a year. [6-8]
A basic income would lift us all up. History has been shaped by ordinary people taking on big issues to make our society fairer.
The status quo can change.
We’ve put together a plan for a massive basic income campaign — to unite behind our shared vision of a future where everyone has enough.
If we can pull it off, it could tip the scales away from status quo politicians and wealthy CEOs. But to have impact, we need to make our message impossible to ignore.
Many have already signed a petition
to show their support for basic income —
With hope and determination,
Claire and Maggie,
on behalf of the entire Leadnow team
Sources
[1] https://financialpost.com/executive/executive-summary/posthaste-canadian-billionaires-add-50-billion-to-their-wealth-pile-during-the-pandemic
[2] https://www.ubiworks.ca/groweconomy
[3] https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2020/09/17/Canadian-Billionaire-Wealth-Skyrocketing-Pandemic/
[4] https://campaign2000.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Campaign-2000-2016-Pre-Budget-Submission-Feb-19.16.pdf
[5] See [1] & https://www.cp24.com/news/covid-19-exacerbated-existing-gap-between-wealthy-and-poor-in-canada-bdo-1.5142704?cache=
[6] https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/2/19/21112570/universal-basic-income-ubi-map
[7] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/basic-income-1.4768844
[8] See [2]