Creating an International Minimum Income

This is more of an article than a blog :-)

Creating an International Minimum Income

What legacy will we leave for humanity?

The last year has taught us that lives are sacred, & we need to do more to help others, be they in our own country or anywhere else around the world.

The provision of vaccines and medicine has once again highlighted the gulf in wealth between those living in wealthier more developed countries & the developing world.

All our lives we have witnessed the struggles of those in the developing world, where so many are lucky if they have a liveable wage. So many earn less than that & huge sections of the population have no work at all. Over the decades there has been a lot of talk and strategies of how to shift the divide; to ensure that all people throughout the world have the essentials, and yet we are still not there. What will it take? It takes commitment & strategies & decisions to bring it about. It also takes education and understanding for all the world. To understand why things are as they are, communication is needed to figure out best solutions.

To begin with, the education & understanding of why things are as they are. There are always going to be various arguments or viewpoints, and usually many different ideas hold relevancy. There are certain parts of the world where survival for people is more challenging. Many parts of Africa for example have suffered from drought over the centuries. Or many tropical areas are more vulnerable to disease & extreme weather events. Many of these same areas have experienced disruption & challenge from colonisation, foreign control, exploitation. Racism has moved in tandem with colonisation & it is no accident that the poorest parts of the world have been & continue to be areas where people are of colour, particularly African descent.

The challenges to resolve these wealth imbalances created by colonialism and imperialism are big. As we look at the divide more & more, and as a world society we move more & more towards rejecting racism & other forms of discrimination, we cannot have true integrity in our rejection of these forms of discrimination, if we do not discuss the economic divide.

I speak as a citizen of the world. I may be just one voice, but I know I speak for many others, that we need this economic divide around the world to be resolved. And we need emergency efforts that should be starting today, not in 5 years or 10 or 20. There are standards of living that all people of our world should be experiencing. No one should be struggling to get food, medicine, health care, education, clothing, shelter, water, electricity, internet, technology, security, freedom. Most of us agree that such things should be enjoyed & experienced by all of humanity. But how will we bring this about?

The UN & many aid agencies have been working to assist those in peril, but I believe as a world, we need to do a lot better than just deal with the extreme. I believe the majority in the world want to see that all people have the essentials guaranteed. Whether people have work or not, essentials should be a right to all. Humanity can do far better than simply provide to people in the most extreme situations.

At no time in our lives have we been surveyed or voted to determine the kind of world economy that we wish to live in. Some argue that capitalism has enabled many to have better lives with access to many resources cheaper than before, but when we look deeper, we see a system that creates a major gulf between the haves & have nots.  If asked, I believe most of the world would choose that wealth be shared more evenly, or at least that all people have their basic needs guaranteed.

Regardless of whether we focus on the history of racism, colonialism & exploitation or that certain parts of the world have different climatic or other challenges, at the end of the day, the question becomes, what kind of world society do we believe in and wish to see? To be human as most see it, is to take care of others. To what degree people are responsible for their own situations vs how much they are experiencing environmental challenges such as climate change or disadvantage because of colonial exploitation, most people wish to see others provided for regardless. As we become more aware that so many who struggle in the world, do so not due to their lack of effort, but because the country they live in which has environmental or economic challenges often the legacy of colonial exploitation, we move to a stronger position that as a world we need to set measures in place to assist all.

Everyday, huge sections of humanity struggle to provide for the essentials for themselves & their family. While education, mass production & technological advancement is ensuring many people have better lives in many ways, there is a growing gulf between rich & poor. Is it ok that the world only assists those in desperate situations, knowing that the majority of poverty is linked to systems of racism & colonial exploitation that repeat themselves generation after generation? Its time for the world to face up to the past & acknowledge that the poverty of today is largely connected to systems created through history. It is no longer ok to blame people for their challenges & say it is their own fault. And yet, year after year we witness a world society where the extremes are getting worse. It is time for humanity to rise to a different standard.

Many western countries have looked at a universal health cover or minimum income for all its citizens. Of course, any solution will require analysis & reevaluation to figure out how best to achieve this. Already there are many countries where while there is a big gulf in wealth, government systems ensure that those who are without work, unable to work or elderly receive payments from government. To ensure that healthcare & medicine are free is another way that government can ensure provisions for its population. This is a good start.

For western countries, the taxation system can provide the funding needed for many these actions. I believe most would agree that a society where all have guarantees of economic security creates a kinder nation & a good place to live. To what degree these programs should operate, needs to be examined further. Such programs need to be available for all who need them, while encouraging the individual initiative to create their own life & success too. So, there is a balancing act between providing security for all in terms of all resources people need, and the ability for individuals to create their own solutions too.

As regards the developing world, the situation is a much more complicated one. Many poorer nations often lack the funds or resources to provide for the large section of their country that struggles.

Recognising that the evolved essence of being human is to take care of others worldwide, a global solution is called for. Recognising that many problems experienced by others can be because of misfortune, environmental challenges or the result of an exploitative system created long ago under colonialism, or earlier, the right thing is to work as one world to ensure that all are provided for.

A worldwide standards body is required to ensure that all countries are moving to a similar status in terms of providing all essential goods & services. Liaising with governments to determine what a government can afford to do or has the commitment for, and what the international community can fund is essential. However, it has to be very thorough to ensure accountability & that funds go where they are meant to. This may often require outside agencies to ensure transparency & accountability preventing opportunities from those who seek to simply steal or profiteer.

The essential goods & services would include: food, water, shelter, education, medicine, healthcare, clothing, security, transport, drainage & plumbing, electricity, technology. Countries would need appraisal on many of these issues to determine the current situation of these essentials & how to ensure provision in a cost minimal method.

Recently there has been a move to internationalise the tax on corporations which operate around the world & often avoid paying tax through different strategies. The US has been particularly active in this conversation. They have been pushing that whichever country the economic transaction occurs in, is where tax should be paid by the corporation. The only problem with that strategy is that such taxation will be largely associated with wealthier countries, because economic activity mostly occurs where people have the money to spend. In much of the developing world, people struggle and use their wages for essentials. In western countries where people earn higher wages, there is far more money earned & spent.

But an alternative strategy could be that corporations pay tax on all earnings to a global fund system. These funds in turn would be used to fund essential services in countries where the government taxation system can not or does not fund a support system such as a minimum income.

It is vital that leaders of countries, businesses & other organisations begin to discuss & plan for an international universal minimum income. Leaders need to come together & agree on what kind of life we agree all humans have a right to. There is sufficient wealth & resources in the world to make this possible. It simply requires the will.

Whether, people would receive an income or vouchers to use for essential services & goods, is something that could be worked out. The goal is not to create another system for companies to profit from. Where possible, the ideal is that essential goods & services be provided through cost-based systems rather than systems based on profit. Governments managing & operating world-wide systems to provide essential goods & services in a way that is not seeking profit, but simply creation & provision of what is required is the goal.

There could be alternative ways to fund this system, but it needs to provide a minimum standard for all worldwide. Whether it is funded by a tax on international corporations & wealthy individuals, or some other strategy, is something that international leaders need to discuss. It is also vital for this to work, that all countries involve leaders in their countries that are strongly connected to the most vulnerable to determine a system that ensures all are provided for.

As humanity evolves, it is time that we create a system to ensure that all people are provided for all over the world. Such a system would see an end to most wars. It would also control & limit so much migration by those who struggle economically or who seek to escape turmoil & disaster. Providing essential resources would help ensure that there is stability in many countries.

While the world continues to struggle with Covid, particularly those places that have not had priority access to vaccines, while we see increasing evidence of climate change with fires & extreme weather events, while we witness Haiti struggling again with more challenges, it is essential that leaders begin this discussion of ensuring that minimum standards are made available to all people, worldwide.

I thank you for your reading.

If promoting this work is of interest to you, please let me know :-)