Why the Pope Must Support Basic Income
Just as the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say “thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills.
— Pope Francis
Today the Pope addressed US Congress to “eliminate new global forms of slavery born of grave injustices which can be overcome only through new policies and new forms of social consensus.”
The Pope’s words echoed supporters of Basic Income, a new policy that would eliminate poverty by providing every citizen an unconditional minimum income, enough to cover the basics — food, shelter, etc.
Here are just a handful of many quotes from the Pope’s speech to the US Congress today (9/24/15) that are in sync with the basic income movement:
Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a word, if we want security, let us give security…
Basic income would give every individual financial security. But it would also improve physical security; after all, without the threat of homelessness and hunger, violent tension is diffused. Likewise, when people can afford to live comfortably there is no need to steal from each other.
If we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities.
There is much talk in Congress about creating opportunities by creating jobs. But neither government or business can ever create enough jobs for everyone. It’s neither practical nor profitable. However, basic income, by its very nature, will provide everyone with a job — contributing however they see fit. People know what their own communities need more than government or business.
The fight against poverty and hunger must be fought constantly.
Current welfare systems are means-tested and temporary. Basic income is constant — every month, no questions asked — like any permanent solution to poverty must be.
Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed at implementing a “culture of care”…
Basic income would shift values from a culture of competition to a culture of care. When competition over limited wages and limited jobs decides who gets to pay rent and who gets evicted, it is no longer beneficial, but detrimental to society. We become threats to each other’s well being. But only if our survival is dependent on a limited number of jobs. By removing our financial dependence on a limited job supply, basic income doesn’t just make housing affordable for everyone. It makes altruism affordable too.
…and an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.
Tree cutters and fossil fuel industry workers continue harming the environment because they NEED a paycheck to support themselves and their family. A basic income frees people to pursue work that is socially and environmentally practical in contrast to the kinds of work many are now pressured into out of pure financial necessity.
Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem.
American soldiers are predominately poor minorities. Men and women sign up for the armed forces, often not just to protect the country, but primarily to protect their own families financially. Poverty puts many Americans in a position where they must be willing to kill others (often innocent) in order to provide for their family. This is an influential recruitment tool for any military group, whether it’s the US Army or ISIS. With Basic Income, no one will ever again so easily be coerced into war for a basic paycheck.
A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to “dream” of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work…
No one has liberty to defend unless they can afford it. Abraham Lincoln did not talk about a basic income, but he may likely have supported it, for his own policy was even more radical. He signed the National Homestead Act of 1862, granting 160 acres of public land to any head of a family 21 years of age or older who agreed to reside upon the land and cultivate it. Almost 720,000 homesteads were established under the law.
Martin Luther King (praised 4 separate times in the Pope’s speech) was an outspoken supporter of Basic Income (aka Guaranteed Income). In a speech at Stanford University, MLK proclaimed “The Civil Rights movement must now begin to organize for the guaranteed annual income.”
Dorothy Day (a popular candidate for sainthood) was a social activist and based on her Distributism ideology, there is no doubt she too would be a supporter of basic income if alive today.
What about you? Would YOU support an unconditional basic income?
I do not underestimate the difficulty that this involves, but I encourage you in this effort.
Check out some more info on Basic Income:
10 Reasons for Guaranteed Income
What Kind of Americans Would Support a Guaranteed Income?
