May 30, 2023

Does Basic Income Make Sense For Canada?

Basic income has been pitched as the solution to so many of our problems. Eliminating poverty, sparking entrepreneurship, empowering people to pursue their passions—all of these would be, its boosters claim, outcomes of a basic income.

But not everyone is so optimistic about the idea. Lindsay Tedds is an associate professor at University of Calgary’s Department of Economics, and co-authored the book Basic Income and a Just Society: Policy Choices for Canada’s Social Safety Net. On this episode, she joins us to break down the pitfalls of a basic income, what the research shows its effects would be, and why she believes it's an idea that could, in many ways, actually make things worse.