Evaluating the economic and environmental viability of Basic Income and Job Guarantees

Basic Income and Job Guarantees are two proposals in the public interest, which rest on the conviction that universal and unconditional policies are more effective and fair than targeted and means-tested programmes. Supporters of these proposals consider modern welfare and labour market policies to be inequitable and inefficient, and therefore advocate an open-ended commitment to guarantee the right to livelihood for all individuals. Both policies aim to enhance individual freedom, economic opportunities, democratic citizenship, and promote social inclusion via poverty eradication, human capital investment, community revitalisation, and environmental renewal. How to reach these goals, however, is vigorously contested.