Guarantee jobs, not UBI

Re: UBI too expensive for too little gain, Colby Cosh, Feb. 1.

Targeting relief to disadvantaged populations makes great sense yet overlooks a major cause of poverty — a lack of suitable jobs for those who want to work. The solution is a job guarantee program, federally funded but locally delivered, that could include provisions for care of the sick and elderly, educational activity for young people, arts and cultural performances, and initiatives for environmental protection.

Participants in such programs abroad have reported their work as liberating and more highly valued than welfare. In addition, the many visible community benefits would underpin public support for the entire guaranteed income/jobs proposal that would generously assist those unable to work because of age, illness or incapacity.

Larry Kazdan, Vancouver