Book review: Well-researched analysis of guaranteed basic income is anything but … well, ‘basic’

Vancouver Sun

Economist Evelyn L. Forget has been thinking about the often contentious issue of guaranteed basic income for decades. An earlier version of this book was shortlisted for the prestigious Donner Prize in 2018-2019, and the current republication has been rewritten to take into account learnings from Canadian COVID-19 and CERB experiences.

Unlike many who pontificate about poverty policies, Forget has had some lived experience growing up poor. By the time she got to university in the 1970s, she knew she wanted to find a way to work for positive social change.

Studying economics under Ian McDonald at Glendon College in Toronto, she learned of Mincome, a bold, experimental program being conducted in Manitoba. She was impressed with the simple elegance of a redistributive program that reduced poverty by making more money available to poor people. What a concept!

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