Universal Basic Income

We asked New Zealanders what the world will look like post-Covid-19

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New polling shows New Zealanders expect to see the environment take a back seat to economic recovery, little change in fortune for low-paid essential workers, and a long wait for tourism to return to pre-Covid 19 levels, writes Stephen Mills of UMR Research. There’s been a lot of speculation about what changes the Covid-19 pandemic … Read more

Introducing the Social Income: a new way to do welfare in the 21st century

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After tax, the next cab off the working-group rank is welfare. The Universal Basic Income has been the hottest new idea of recent years, but Max Rashbrooke reckons that just doesn’t add up, and there’s another, stronger option The New Zealand Initiative and Sue Bradford make strange bedfellows: normally there is not much that unites … Read more

A future with mothers in the House?

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Thalia Kehoe Rowden imagines a future where we have mothers of young children and babies in Parliament. What a world it could be… Today in Parliament, the House passed a unanimous motion of congratulations to Prime Minister Golriz Ghahraman, on the birth of her third child. In a statement to the House, Acting Prime Minister, … Read more

An investment adviser on why we need a Universal Basic Income debate

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You could be forgiven for thinking support for a Universal Basic Income comes only from Gareth Morgan and the more radical parts of the left. But as financial adviser Michael Warrington points out, the UBI has a lot to recommend it whatever your political outlook. Gareth Morgan’s proposals around tax and the Universal Basic Income (UBI) … Read more

‘The ultimate policy tool’: The case for a basic income for New Zealand families

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The best way to improve the lives of thousands of our most deprived and at-risk kids? Give their parents a regular, guaranteed cash payment, says Jess Berentson-Shaw – no strings attached. We know that families in New Zealand are struggling. So, what are we doing about it? We need people who care, we need to … Read more

Think Big for Kids: 5 big ideas (and a few dozen more) to protect children and support families

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Experts agree: improving the welfare of our children – especially the most vulnerable – would bring huge social benefits, not least among them a drastic decrease in crime. So what are the fixes? And what’s stopping us? Thalia Kehoe Rowden has some suggestions. What can you say about Thalia Kehoe Rowden? She is a lightening … Read more

UBI: the radical solution to tax and work which even Silicon Valley is now investigating

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The Unconditional Basic Income – a guaranteed sum of money for every citizen, no matter their other income – is an idea whose time has come, say Geoff Simmons and Gareth Morgan. So why aren’t we talking about how it would be funded? Try explaining the Unconditional (or Universal) Basic Income (UBI) and the most common … Read more

I love the idea of a Universal Basic Income. But here’s the problem

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In principle, a Universal Basic Income, as floated by the NZ Labour Party, sounds great. It’s once you start looking harder at implementation that things quickly become, well, messy, writes Eric Crampton. If you like a UBI, economist Kevin Milligan tells us you can choose two of the following three options. But only two. 1. … Read more