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We are currently in the midst of an unwanted sociological experiment.
Society is reliant on its citizens being responsive to the current restrictions in a way that cannot realistically be enforced by coercion.
The lessons to be drawn can offer us significant hope. A hope that, as a counsellor working in mental health, I have always had. It is a hope in the possibility of the majority to find a way to do the best for themselves and others.
An army of volunteers have been found. Neighbours are mostly, neighbourly. Politicians have asked that citizens be trusted to pay their part in the current challenges and we have not been found wanting. (Apart from my own glass recycling, I include myself in this). In the counselling room I see that the human spirit has both conscience and drive, often in the face of appalling experiences. Daily I see people trying to find a way to become the person they want to be, across all social groups, often hampered by shame of circumstance.
The radical idea of Universal benefit has been floated by economists and idealists since Tudor England and the writings of Thomas Payne, but those holding the mindset of the poorhouse have never trusted that “handouts’ wouldn’t create a culture of workshy reliance.
The truest form of Universal Basic Income (UBI) provides a base to all via the income tax code. It could equalise the starting point of income for all at a basic minimum. Zero income means a negative tax rate (a credit) but it is not about making all equal, although less inequality is inevitable.
UBI is and should be seen as the provision of stability.
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