Basic Income In Canada Is Closer Than You Think
Although few people would explicitly declare that poor people are morally deficient, our welfare systems are nonetheless designed around suspicion rather than support.
Like many social assistance policies, opposition to guaranteed income is driven by a deep-seated fear of fraud — of “freeloaders” benefiting from the taxes of hard-working, morally upright citizens. Our collective delusion that we live in a meritocracy is operationalized into a punitive framework that rationalizes who deserves help and who does not.
As a result, we spend enormous administrative effort policing eligibility, while leaving many people without adequate help.