Stan Jourdan, European basic income

European Basic Income Why and how to get there?

Unconditional Basic Income facebook.com/BasicIncomeEurope Europe

@BasicIncomeEU BasicIncomeEurope www.basicincome-europe.org

Stanislas Jourdan Head of Positive Money Europe Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018 stan.jourdan@positivemoney.eu

What is basic income?

“A periodic income unconditionally granted to all members of a political community on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement. The basic income should be high enough to ensure a dignified existence and full participation in society.”

Unconditional Basic Income Europe

➔ ➔ ➔ ➔

Individual rather than household Universal: everyone should be receive it automatically Unconditional: not means tested ; no work requirement High enough to live in dignity and participate in society Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018

Why basic income?

Among (many) other reasons: â—? Social protection modernization: current welfare state models are over-complex and ineffective to combat poverty and inequality. Means-tests and activation policies are counter-productive (non-take up). â—? Wealth redistribution based not only on income distribution but also common wealth (natural resources, land, big data, etc.). Basic income is a right to access common resources.

Unconditional Basic Income Europe

â—? Emancipation from exploitative labor and social conditions. Incentivization to reducing working hours and increase engagement in non-market activities.

Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018

Why a European basic income? ● Re-legitimizing Europe: direct transfers to all europeans would anchor a sense of citizenship and build a caring Europe ● Tackling extreme poverty: virtually all national welfare states in the EU are under pressure from budget cuts and globalisation. UBI would end the “race to the bottom”. ● Macroeconomic stabilizer: UBI transfers would help reduce asymmetric shocks within the EU (and in particular in the Eurozone) Unconditional Basic Income Europe

Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018

What would an EU-wide basic income scheme look like? The Eurodividend proposal

Wages and other incomes

EU Poverty line

Total basic income Unconditional Basic Income Europe

Housing, disability etc.

National minimum income

Eurodividend ~ 200 EUR

Funded at national level

Funded at EU level

Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018

Financing principles Financing options for financing a Eurodividend should ideally comply with those four criteria: ➔ Sizeable: have large tax base across all EU member states) ➔ Sustainable: low volatility and predictable income stream ➔ Subsidiarity: there must be a strong case for shifting (or implementing) fiscal mechanism to the EU Unconditional Basic Income Europe

➔ Progressivity: the financing mechanism should contribute to a better distribution and allocation of resources Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018

How to finance it? ➔ Consumption tax (VAT) ◆ ◆

Already the most harmonized tax at EU level Large and reliable tax base

➔ European Corporation Tax ◆ ◆

Corporations who benefit most from the EU’s single market should contribute at EU level Popular support for tackling tax avoidance

◆

Will soon become possible with CCTB

➔ Carbon tax and green fiscal instruments

Unconditional Basic Income Europe

➔ “Quantitative easing for People” by the European Central Bank ◆ ◆

More effective than 2.5 trillion EUR of quantitative easing for banks Not a sustainable financing option but can help the starting phase Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018

Fiscal transfers of 200 EUR basic income across EU27 countries

Unconditional Basic Income Europe

Source: Jean Mansuy & Stanislas Jourdan (2018) Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018

More pragmatic steps 1. European Universal child benefit ◆ ◆

100 EUR / month for all children under 18 Cost: 100 billion EUR (~1% EU GDP = current EU budget)

2. “Erasmus for all” ◆ ◆

1000 EUR / month for 2 years All adults between 18-65 are eligible

3. EU Funding for pilots Unconditional Basic Income Europe

4. “Quantitative Easing for the People” / Helicopter money Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018

Redistribution effect across the EU (Universal child benefit 100 EUR per capita - no PPP)

Unconditional Basic Income Europe

Redistribution effect for child benefit (Source: Jean Mansuy) Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018

Unconditional Basic Income Europe Basic Income Unconditional Europe

European Social Survey Round 8

Popular support for UBI?

Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018

The Eurodividend: A bottom-up social Europe

Unconditional Basic Income Europe

Philippe Van Parijs, 2013

“Far from imposing top-down a mega welfare state, a firm common floor for the most redistributive dimension of social policy keeps fiscal competition and social dumping under check and thereby allows each member state to maintain and improve its own preferred version of the welfare state. As an antidote to the race to the bottom, this bottom-up conception of an active social Europe is fully compatible with subsidiarity properly understood.�

Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018

Join the movement!

facebook.com/BasicIncomeEurope @BasicIncomeEU BasicIncomeEurope www.basicincome-europe.org

Unconditional Basic Income Europe

Author: Stanislas Jourdan Design: OndĹ™ej KlouÄ?ek Stanislas Jourdan, European Parliament 2018 stan.jourdan@positivemoney.eu