Basic income can be a tough sell in hard times

Re Basic income could be clarity in uncertainty, April 27 Try to imagine a machine located in (say) Manitoba that can produce everything Canadians need (food, furniture, etc.) while employing only a handful of workers. Its production is transported by self-driving trucks to automated outlets where customers drive-by to pick up the goods they just ordered online.

Economic models that rely upon “price” to match consumers with “scarce goods” have served us well since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. But, that was when our technology still had limited capability to replace labour (i.e., goods really were “scarce”). Today, our productive capacity is inching closer to my imaginary machine and well beyond the situation of even 50 years ago. A paradox exists — we lack the money to buy goods because our jobs are disappearing, yet this marvellous machine in Manitoba runs at less than capacity.

My machine is imaginary, but the point is simple enough — we need a new breed of economic theories whose core is not built around a scarce goods versus price mechanism. Even the concept of “money” is up for grabs in a world where artificial intelligence and micro sensors can mimic human capabilities with astonishing precision. Peter Vasos, B. Engineering, MBA (Retired) When voters prioritize the worthy goals governments need to finance, basic income is not at the top of the list.

More and more Canadians are supportive of providing essential goods such as dental care, daycare, pharmacare, lower tuition and affordable housing . These equal opportunity goods would benefit disproportionately those targeted by advocates of basic income.

More and more Canadians appreciate the need for financing essential infrastructure — transportation, hospitals, communications, education, the environment, energy and water delivery systems, etc. In addition, all are job-creating investments that would also provide opportunities and benefits the poor and underemployed.

Basic income does not address other essential fundamental needs. People want to contribute, to be self-sufficient, to achieve, to have self-respect, to have status and to achieve their potential . . . spending on essential goods and infrastructure enables and empowers people to meet those needs. Joseph Polito, Toronto