Sir, - The good news of the latest CORI proposals on basic income was marred by the troglodyte reaction by Seamus Moran, assistant secretary at the Department of Enterprise and Employment, as reported in your paper on April 8th. Equally, the political parties have been dismissive of BI: the former because it threatens their power of patronage, and the latter because simplification of the system would threaten mass redundancies in the public sector administration.
Fr Sean Healy's scheme is quite ingenious and strikes an excellent balance between providing a reasonable minimum income for all, and avoiding having to impose too high a tax rate. The existence of the poverty trap is graphically illustrated. For example, it shows that a married wage earner with two children earning £10,000 a year finishes up with a net income (inclusive of state benefits) of £11,217.
If s/he increases his/her wages to £13,000 a year, his/her net income increases by £73! Successive Governments have promised to abolish this poverty trap but, as you will see, it is still alive and well. Surely it must be clear that no tinkering with the present system will ever eliminate it.
The Green Movement has been an enthusiastic proponent of basic income for many years. The introduction of BI at the rate envisaged by CORI would be a useful start. This would herald a period of major cuts in Government spending which would be used to increase BI. Roll on, the era of citizen empowerment. - Yours, etc.,
Butterfield Drive,
Dublin 14.