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Jamie Swift and Elaine Power: The Case for Basic Income: Freedom, Security, Justice

Jamie Swift and Elaine Power: The Case for Basic Income: Freedom, Security, Justice Nestled between Toronto and Ottawa, the city of Kingston, Ontario is known for its historical limestone buildings, sizable student population, and – at least in some circles – as the seat of among the most dedicated basic income advocacy in Canada. Established in 2013, the Kingston Action Group for a Basic Income Guarantee boasts several achievements, including persuading Kingston City Council to become the first elected body in Canada to endorse a basic income.Authored by founding members of the Kingston group and long-standing Queen’s University professors Jamie Swift and Elaine Power, The Case for Basic Income: Freedom, Security, Justice represents the latest contribution emerging from the city’s committed movement. The authors expertly draw from existing literature, interview testimony, and sharp insights into current events to present an analysis of basic income that is firmly rooted in the historical, social, and political contexts in Canada and beyond. All the while, they present a powerful and unapologetic case for basic income as a way to “enhance freedom while also getting at the root of poverty” (p. 4). In this way, The Case for Basic Income is a clear testament to the authors’ shared academic and activist backgrounds, making it an informative, accessible, and enjoyable read for diverse audiences.While the book has many merits, chief among them is its detailed overview and analysis of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot. Launched as an experiment in three communities in 2018 by Ontario’s Liberal provincial government, the pilot’s cancellation was announced by the incoming Progressive Conservative government less than a year after it had been implemented. Given its early termination, the lack of data about the Ontario pilot renders Swift and Power’s nuanced depiction of its rise and fall an important one. The authors describe effects of the pilot that are seldom portrayed elsewhere. For instance, they recount an interview with the manager overseeing social assistance (“welfare”) in one of the pilot sites who observed improved outcomes not for pilot participants, but for those who continued to receive social assistance payments. He attributed this to reduced caseloads as a result of former clients transitioning to enroll in the basic income pilot: “Staff morale improved as caseloads dropped. Stronger, more positive connections between workers and clients developed” (p. 104). In this case and others, readers are offered a glimpse into one of the oft-hypothesized benefits of basic income that we rarely hear about firsthand.Arguably the most powerful element of The Case for Basic Income is its foregrounding of the voices of Ontario pilot participants themselves. Swift and Power seamlessly integrate the stories of those callously left behind by the pilot’s premature cancellation, remaining steadfast in their commitment to affording these stories the reverence and compassion that they deserve. In documenting the lives of pilot participants before, during, and following their receipt of a basic income, the authors avoid tragedizing poverty (or romanticizing basic income). Rather, these accounts are presented with the clear objective of demonstrating the profound impacts of what is possible when we endeavor to build better futures, both for ourselves and our communities.One particularly-memorable chapter illustrates the experience of Jodi Dean, a mother of three who used her basic income payments to complete an unfinished social work degree and purchase parking passes for her disabled daughter’s frequent hospital appointments. The significance of the authors prioritizing the human side of basic income is underscored by an ongoing reluctance within both research and policy to treat lived experience as a valid source of evidence. Luis Segura – who, along with his wife Leanna, leveraged their participation in the Ontario pilot to grow their local restaurant – spoke to this matter-of-factly in his interview with the authors: “They’re seeing numbers, and they are forgetting the people and the human experience” (p. 106). Readers are left with the distinct impression that any understanding of basic income that fails to meaningfully consider the experiences of those who have received it is inherently incomplete. Of note, the book focuses primarily on two of the three pilot sites, with the relative exclusion of the third – a remote city with the highest proportion of Indigenous peoples in any Canadian metropolitan – leaving unexplored questions about what a basic income might mean for certain communities. However, this is one of the few drawbacks in the book’s otherwise-fervent devotion to participants in the Ontario pilot.Beyond chronicling the history of a single policy idea or pilot program, The Case for Basic Income is also unique in its contextualized depiction of Canada’s basic income movement. The experiments, research, and policy proposals detailed throughout the book are framed as inextricable from the grassroots organizers and groups who fought for them. The authors paint a portrait of so many of the tireless basic income activists who have dedicated their lives to the cause, often off the side of their desks and many with lived experience of poverty and income insecurity themselves. Canada has a wealth of inspiring advocates who have contributed to the flourishing international basic income movement – Swift and Power undoubtedly being among them – whose efforts are commemorated in these pages. In many ways, this book is a love letter to these activists. Although Swift and Power draw some connections to international basic income advocacy, their narrative’s emphasis on the Canadian context carries certain implications: for instance, a focus on an income-tested basic income guarantee rather than a universal basic income model. While this may be distinct from contexts elsewhere, the book nevertheless presents an exciting opportunity for collective learning. By tracing the history of a specific movement through key debates, struggles, successes, and strategizing, it sheds light on potentially-valuable insights for basic income advocates – in Kingston and further afield.The Case for Basic Income is, in many ways, unabashedly-ideological. Swift and Power’s case is a subversive one, positioning basic income as a means of challenging the “sanctity of paid labour” (p. 19) and advancing a form of freedom that is unmistakably collectivist in nature. Their argumentation for a basic income is clearly motivated by anti-poverty and social justice aims, and is inextricably linked to critiques of neoliberal policy and unfettered capitalism. Further, they envision a basic income that is necessarily supported by strong social services and complemented by other forms of systemic change. For instance, writing of the climate crisis, they pose the following question: “Is there any point in providing low-income people with enough money for a decent life if little else changes?” (p. 179). In this context, the book serves as an essential tool for those interested in basic income on progressive grounds. While opposition to basic income remains prevalent among those of all political stripes, the authors point to a distinct lack of political imagination among many on the left, underscoring the value of an analysis based in this framework. Despite this stance, the authors also keenly challenge the politics of opposition through a narrative that is as compelling as it is pragmatic. Indeed, readers are regularly reminded of the importance of fighting not just against, but for something.In a book catalyzed by the cruel cancellation of a pilot that sent the lives of 4000 courageous individuals into disarray, Jamie Swift and Elaine Power have defied the odds to craft a moving message of hope and optimism. Without failing to attend to the devastating realities of the onslaught of the climate crisis, intense fissures in Canada’s political system, and the deeply-ingrained sanctity of work and capital, the authors manage to leave readers feeling hopeful for a more compassionate and just society. Taken together, the sophisticated yet approachable combination of political and economic thought, policy analysis, and lived experiences of basic income recipients and activists demonstrate how basic income can be a part of our collective liberation. The Case for Basic Income: Freedom, Security, Justice is a contribution that makes us proud to be basic income researchers and advocates. This is an important, thorough, and auspicious contribution that deserves to be read widely by policymakers, academics, activists, basic income proponents and skeptics, and anyone invested in radical policy change. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Basic Income Studies de Gruyter

Jamie Swift and Elaine Power: The Case for Basic Income: Freedom, Security, Justice

Halpenny, Chloe; David, Kendal
Basic Income Studies , Volume 17 (1): 4 – Jun 1, 2022
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Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
ISSN
1932-0183
eISSN
1932-0183
DOI
10.1515/bis-2022-0004
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Abstract

Nestled between Toronto and Ottawa, the city of Kingston, Ontario is known for its historical limestone buildings, sizable student population, and – at least in some circles – as the seat of among the most dedicated basic income advocacy in Canada. Established in 2013, the Kingston Action Group for a Basic Income Guarantee boasts several achievements, including persuading Kingston City Council to become the first elected body in Canada to endorse a basic income.Authored by founding members of the Kingston group and long-standing Queen’s University professors Jamie Swift and Elaine Power, The Case for Basic Income: Freedom, Security, Justice represents the latest contribution emerging from the city’s committed movement. The authors expertly draw from existing literature, interview testimony, and sharp insights into current events to present an analysis of basic income that is firmly rooted in the historical, social, and political contexts in Canada and beyond. All the while, they present a powerful and unapologetic case for basic income as a way to “enhance freedom while also getting at the root of poverty” (p. 4). In this way, The Case for Basic Income is a clear testament to the authors’ shared academic and activist backgrounds, making it an informative, accessible, and enjoyable read for diverse audiences.While the book has many merits, chief among them is its detailed overview and analysis of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot. Launched as an experiment in three communities in 2018 by Ontario’s Liberal provincial government, the pilot’s cancellation was announced by the incoming Progressive Conservative government less than a year after it had been implemented. Given its early termination, the lack of data about the Ontario pilot renders Swift and Power’s nuanced depiction of its rise and fall an important one. The authors describe effects of the pilot that are seldom portrayed elsewhere. For instance, they recount an interview with the manager overseeing social assistance (“welfare”) in one of the pilot sites who observed improved outcomes not for pilot participants, but for those who continued to receive social assistance payments. He attributed this to reduced caseloads as a result of former clients transitioning to enroll in the basic income pilot: “Staff morale improved as caseloads dropped. Stronger, more positive connections between workers and clients developed” (p. 104). In this case and others, readers are offered a glimpse into one of the oft-hypothesized benefits of basic income that we rarely hear about firsthand.Arguably the most powerful element of The Case for Basic Income is its foregrounding of the voices of Ontario pilot participants themselves. Swift and Power seamlessly integrate the stories of those callously left behind by the pilot’s premature cancellation, remaining steadfast in their commitment to affording these stories the reverence and compassion that they deserve. In documenting the lives of pilot participants before, during, and following their receipt of a basic income, the authors avoid tragedizing poverty (or romanticizing basic income). Rather, these accounts are presented with the clear objective of demonstrating the profound impacts of what is possible when we endeavor to build better futures, both for ourselves and our communities.One particularly-memorable chapter illustrates the experience of Jodi Dean, a mother of three who used her basic income payments to complete an unfinished social work degree and purchase parking passes for her disabled daughter’s frequent hospital appointments. The significance of the authors prioritizing the human side of basic income is underscored by an ongoing reluctance within both research and policy to treat lived experience as a valid source of evidence. Luis Segura – who, along with his wife Leanna, leveraged their participation in the Ontario pilot to grow their local restaurant – spoke to this matter-of-factly in his interview with the authors: “They’re seeing numbers, and they are forgetting the people and the human experience” (p. 106). Readers are left with the distinct impression that any understanding of basic income that fails to meaningfully consider the experiences of those who have received it is inherently incomplete. Of note, the book focuses primarily on two of the three pilot sites, with the relative exclusion of the third – a remote city with the highest proportion of Indigenous peoples in any Canadian metropolitan – leaving unexplored questions about what a basic income might mean for certain communities. However, this is one of the few drawbacks in the book’s otherwise-fervent devotion to participants in the Ontario pilot.Beyond chronicling the history of a single policy idea or pilot program, The Case for Basic Income is also unique in its contextualized depiction of Canada’s basic income movement. The experiments, research, and policy proposals detailed throughout the book are framed as inextricable from the grassroots organizers and groups who fought for them. The authors paint a portrait of so many of the tireless basic income activists who have dedicated their lives to the cause, often off the side of their desks and many with lived experience of poverty and income insecurity themselves. Canada has a wealth of inspiring advocates who have contributed to the flourishing international basic income movement – Swift and Power undoubtedly being among them – whose efforts are commemorated in these pages. In many ways, this book is a love letter to these activists. Although Swift and Power draw some connections to international basic income advocacy, their narrative’s emphasis on the Canadian context carries certain implications: for instance, a focus on an income-tested basic income guarantee rather than a universal basic income model. While this may be distinct from contexts elsewhere, the book nevertheless presents an exciting opportunity for collective learning. By tracing the history of a specific movement through key debates, struggles, successes, and strategizing, it sheds light on potentially-valuable insights for basic income advocates – in Kingston and further afield.The Case for Basic Income is, in many ways, unabashedly-ideological. Swift and Power’s case is a subversive one, positioning basic income as a means of challenging the “sanctity of paid labour” (p. 19) and advancing a form of freedom that is unmistakably collectivist in nature. Their argumentation for a basic income is clearly motivated by anti-poverty and social justice aims, and is inextricably linked to critiques of neoliberal policy and unfettered capitalism. Further, they envision a basic income that is necessarily supported by strong social services and complemented by other forms of systemic change. For instance, writing of the climate crisis, they pose the following question: “Is there any point in providing low-income people with enough money for a decent life if little else changes?” (p. 179). In this context, the book serves as an essential tool for those interested in basic income on progressive grounds. While opposition to basic income remains prevalent among those of all political stripes, the authors point to a distinct lack of political imagination among many on the left, underscoring the value of an analysis based in this framework. Despite this stance, the authors also keenly challenge the politics of opposition through a narrative that is as compelling as it is pragmatic. Indeed, readers are regularly reminded of the importance of fighting not just against, but for something.In a book catalyzed by the cruel cancellation of a pilot that sent the lives of 4000 courageous individuals into disarray, Jamie Swift and Elaine Power have defied the odds to craft a moving message of hope and optimism. Without failing to attend to the devastating realities of the onslaught of the climate crisis, intense fissures in Canada’s political system, and the deeply-ingrained sanctity of work and capital, the authors manage to leave readers feeling hopeful for a more compassionate and just society. Taken together, the sophisticated yet approachable combination of political and economic thought, policy analysis, and lived experiences of basic income recipients and activists demonstrate how basic income can be a part of our collective liberation. The Case for Basic Income: Freedom, Security, Justice is a contribution that makes us proud to be basic income researchers and advocates. This is an important, thorough, and auspicious contribution that deserves to be read widely by policymakers, academics, activists, basic income proponents and skeptics, and anyone invested in radical policy change.

Journal

Basic Income Studies – de Gruyter

Published: Jun 1, 2022

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