Now Right-wing think-tank wants State wage for everyone
EvEry adult should be given a weekly cash handout to curb public unrest over the threat to jobs posed by automation, according to a rightwing think-tank.
The Adam Smith Institute backs the idea of a universal basic income – in which everyone gets a fixed payment from the State regardless of salary or employment. It said the scheme would help secure public support for future technological upheaval when robots are predicted to take over many manual tasks.
The idea has previously been identified with politicians on the Left, such as Labour’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, and has been piloted in countries such as Canada and Finland.
It is now being championed by rightof-centre groups, which could help the idea take off. In a report published ahead of next week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, the institute called on governments to conduct experiments on basic income. They say the rise of automation and artificial intelligence could lead to massive improvements in the standard of living. But there could also be a ‘populist backlash’ from those left jobless.
A basic income could ‘deliver popular consent for globalisation and technological change’ said the think-tank. The alternative, it said, was the sort of ‘Luddite regulation’ and protectionist tariffs proposed by Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn. Sam Dumitriu, of the Adam Smith Institute, said: ‘ New developments in machine learning, from driverless cars to AI medical diagnostics, will change the way we live, work, and play for the better. But they also risk disrupting traditional professions and career paths, from lorry drivers to lawyers. ‘To avoid a populist backlash, we need to design policies for those left behind by creative destruction. Cash transfers are our best bet at ensuring the benefits from coming technological change are felt by everyone.’
The report said basic income would ensure that ‘capitalism and efficient redistribution can be vindicated in equal measure’. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has warned that 15million Britons – almost half the workforce – could lose their jobs to robots.