Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Why we should give everyone a basic income | Rutger Bregman | TEDxMaastricht

Published on Oct 21, 2014

https://youtu.be/aIL_Y9g7Tg0

TEDx Talks TEDx Talks Subscribe5,679,900 Add to Share More 229,084 views 3,416 216

Transcript

English 0:01Rutger Bregman Basic Income for everyone 0:13Ladies and Gentlemen, 0:15today I'd like to share a big idea with you. 0:21In fact, I believe it could be 0:24one of the biggest ideas of the 21st century. 0:27It's an idea that could unite politicians 0:30from the left to the right 0:32in fixing our broken social security system. 0:36It's an idea that could give dignity to millions 0:38and accomplish what we should have accomplished long ago 0:41especially in our rich and wealthy countries: 0:44eradicating poverty. 0:47But first, 0:49I have to be honest with you: 0:53it's actually not my idea. 0:56Now, in fact it's the idea of this man, 0:59Thomas Payne, 1:01who sadly wasn't able to make it today 1:04(Laughter) 1:06because -- well, he died 200 years ago. 1:10But it was also the idea of these guys: 1:13some of history's greatest thinkers. 1:19Now I can hear you think: 1:20What kind of idea could unite men so different 1:24such as the civil rights campaigner, 1:26Martin Luther King, on the one hand, 1:28and the free market economist Milton Friedman, 1:30on the other hand? 1:32What idea could unite thinkers so different 1:34such as Thomas Payne, who thought that the government 1:37is the solution to most of our problems, 1:39and on the other hand, Friedrik von Hayek, 1:41the Austrian economist, who said that, well, 1:43the Government is in fact the problem, most of the time. 1:47What is this idea, that goes against the spirit of our time, 1:50right through the old political divisions 1:52between the left and the right? 1:55What is this great idea, this Utopian idea 1:58that so many of history's greatest thinkers 2:01have been dreaming about for centuries, 2:03yet which has failed to come true, 2:06so far? 2:09Well, some people call it the 'citizen's dividend'; 2:14other people call it the 'basic income.' 2:18Now, I like to call it 2:20'free money for everyone.' 2:24Now, that sounds good, right? 2:28I know, it also sounds 2:30like a Utopian fantasy, 2:31something that will never come true, 2:33especially not in our lifetime. 2:35But I want to remind you beforehand: 2:38Utopias have a tendency of coming true. 2:41Just think of how the end of slavery, 2:44equal rights for men and women, and democracy, 2:46they were all regarded as impossible ideals, once. 2:49But in history, there is something called progress. 2:54So let's start with this simple, basic question: 2:58What is the basic income? 3:00Well, it is a monthly grant, 3:05enough to pay for your basic needs: 3:07food, shelter, education. 3:09That's it. 3:11Now, some of you might ask: 3:13Don't we have this already? 3:14Isn't there something called social security, 3:17don't we have the welfare state? 3:19Well, yes, but the basic income is something entirely different. 3:23In the first place, it's universal, 3:26so everyone would get it. 3:29Whether you're a billionaire or a beggar, 3:31whether you're a man or a woman, employed or unemployed, 3:34the basic income is a right, 3:36a right as a citizen of your country. 3:39Moreover, it's also unconditional, 3:41so you get it no matter what. 3:43No one's going to tell you what you have to do with it; 3:46no one's going to tell you what you have to do for it. 3:49The basic income is not a favor, 3:52but it's a right, just like, for example, 3:55the freedom of speech is a right as well. 3:58But most importantly, 4:00in the past few decades, in the past 30 or 40 years, 4:05it has become more than just an idea. 4:06'Free money for everyone' 4:08is more than just an idea nowadays, 4:10it has become a proven idea. 4:13As you can see on this map, 4:14there have been experiments 4:16-- this map is from 2012, by the way -- 4:18there have been experiments all over the world 4:20and especially in the South, 4:22from Mexico to Brazil, from South Africa to India, 4:27researchers and governments have experimented 4:30with giving people free money. 4:33This map shows all the 'cash transfer programs' 4:36as they call them, that reach at least 5,000 individuals. 4:40And there have also been very large-scale experiments 4:44in the 70s and 80s in Canada and in the United States. 4:47They're almost forgotten nowadays, 4:48but they were a big success. 4:51Now, what researchers have shown, time and time and again, 4:54by comparing a test group of poor people who receive free money, 4:58and a similar control group, so that they could see the effects -- 5:01time and time again, they have shown that free money results in -- 5:06well, lower inequality, lower poverty, obviously; 5:09but it also results in less infant mortality, 5:16lower health care costs, lower crime rates, 5:20better school completion records, 5:22less truancy, higher economic growth, 5:24better emancipation rates, 5:26and all kinds of other positive social outcomes. 5:30Time and time again, researchers have shown 5:33that free money may be the most efficient, 5:36the cheapest, and the most civilized way 5:39to combat poverty. 5:42Now, I'm not going to be able to summarize 5:45all the experiments that happened on it, 5:47so I want to tell you about just one experiment 5:50that was done a few years ago in the City of London. 5:55Now, this was an experiment with some homeless men. 5:58To be exact, 13 homeless men 6:01that lived on the streets of London. 6:05They were 'street veterans': 6:07Some of them had been living on the cold tiles of 'square mile', 6:10which is the financial district of London, 6:12for more than 40 years. 6:15And I have to mention, 6:16their presence was far from cheap -- 6:20think of health care costs, 6:22legal cost, policing costs -- 6:24they were costing the British taxpayers 6:26hundreds of thousands of pounds every year. 6:31So, everything had been tried at that point 6:34and it was time for something new. 6:36In the spring of 2009, a local charity decided: 6:40Well, why not try free money instead? 6:44So, each of the homeless men received £3,000. 6:48Cash. 6:50No strings attached. 6:52They were completely free to decide 6:54whatever they wanted to do with the money. 6:58The only question they had to answer for themselves was: 7:02What do you think is good for you? 7:05Counseling services were completely optional. 7:08Now, of course, most of the aid workers, 7:11they didn't have high expectations: 7:13they thought that, well, 7:14the men are probably going to spend the money 7:17on alcohol or drugs or gambling or something like that. 7:21But then, something amazing happened. 7:23What happened in the first place was 7:24that the men turned out to be extremely frugal 7:27with the money they received. 7:29At the end of the first year 7:31only £800 had been spent on average. 7:33And what did they spend it on? 7:36A phone or a passport or a dictionary, 7:39each had his own idea 7:40of what would be best for him. 7:42Moreover, a year later the impossible had happened; 7:467 out of 13 of the men had a roof above their head. 7:50Two more had applied for housing. 7:52Some of the men took gardening classes; 7:55another learned how to cook, for example. 7:58They visited their children, again. 8:00And all of the men made plans for the future. 8:04It sort of seemed as if the cash had empowered them. 8:09Now, I don't know if there's a politician in the room, 8:12but a politician would probably ask at this point: 8:15Well, this is a very interesting story, 8:17but what did it cost? 8:19What did the experiment cost? 8:20Well, the answer is £50,000, 8:25including the wages of the aid workers. 8:28So, in addition to giving at least seven individuals 8:32another shot at life, the project had saved money 8:35by a factor of at least seven. 8:37And this is a very conservative estimate. 8:40Even the liberal, free market magazine, 8:45The Economist, concluded at that point: 8:47The most effeicient way to spend money on the homeless 8:50might be just to give it to them. 8:51(Laughter) 8:53Experiments such as these, and they've been done all around the world, 8:57show us that we need to rethink what poverty actually is. 9:01Poverty is not a lack of character; 9:04poverty is a lack of money! 9:07Nothing more, nothing less. 9:10So, it turns out that it's a great idea 9:13just to give money to the poor if you want to resolve that problem. 9:19Ladies and gentlemen, 9:20we are living through a time and age 9:23in which our societies and economies are changing faster than ever. 9:28It's an age of automation; 9:30the robots are coming for our jobs. 9:34Now, this will bring, obviously, great prosperity, 9:37but it also means that we will have to adjust. 9:40If we do not adjust, 9:42if we keep applying the solutions of the 20th century 9:45to the challenges of the 21st century, 9:47then the middle class will crumble, and inequality will soar. 9:50And truly this is a dystopian future. 9:54Nowadays, governments are obsessed 9:57with pushing people into jobs, 9:59even when there are no jobs. 10:02It's like the great inventor Buckminster Fuller once said: 10:05So we have inspectors of inspectors, 10:07and people making instruments for inspectors to inspect inspectors. 10:11The true business of people should be to go back to school 10:14and think about whatever it was they were doing 10:16before somebody told them 10:17they had to earn a living. 10:20I believe that the basic income is a better alternative 10:24to our current welfare mess. 10:26But I have to admit, throughout history, 10:31there have always been three arguments against it, 10:33three formidable objections. 10:36The first goes something like this: 10:39Oh, it's an interesting idea, but -- 10:42I've done some calculations and it's too expensive. 10:46Sorry, can't pay for it. It's not going to work. 10:49Now, this might have been true 10:51in the times of Thomas Payne, 200 years ago, 10:53when almost everyone, almost everywhere, 10:56was sick, poor, hungry and ugly. 10:58(Laughter) 11:00But it's not true anymore. 11:02As a society, we are richer than ever! 11:06I'd like to see the basic income 11:09as a dividend of progress. 11:10Because our forefathers worked so hard 11:12to achieve our current level of prosperity, 11:15we can now afford to give everyone 11:17a share of their accomplishments. 11:20And remember, 11:23eradicating poverty is actually an investment. 11:28An economist calculated 11:29that it would cost about $175b 11:33to eradicate poverty in United States. 11:37That's quite a lot of money, right? 11:38$175b each year -- 11:42But it's only a quarter of the country's military budget. 11:47So this is entirely possible, it's entirely doable. 11:50And after ten, or maybe twenty years, 11:52it wll turn out that the investment has paid for itself. 11:55Because the government will save billions in lower health care costs, 11:59there will be less crime, 12:01and there will be lots more productive citizens 12:04who will be able to fulfill their dreams. 12:07So, let's move onto the second objection, 12:09maybe that one's better. 12:11The second objection is: 12:13Ah, this is an interesting idea, 12:15we might be able to pay for it, 12:17but um -- 12:19when you give people free money, 12:20they will stop working! 12:22You know, it's human nature, people are lazy, 12:27nothing can be done about that. 12:29The interesting thing, here, is that 12:31if I asked each one of you, in this room: 12:33Would you stop working when I'll give you, 12:36you know, about 1000 € each month? 12:39About 99% of you would say: 12:41Of course not. I've got dreams, I've got ambitions, 12:47I'm not going to sit on the couch, no. 12:50But if I asked each and everyone of you, 12:52What would other people do, 12:55when they receive 1000 € each month? 12:58I think about 99% of you would say: 13:00Yeah, other people, 13:02they'll probably stop working! 13:04(Laughter) 13:05You know, it's human nature, they're lazy -- 13:09If that's what you're thinking, I've got some news for you. 13:12The experiments that were conducted all over the world, 13:15and also common sense, actually tell us 13:17that most people want to contribute to society. 13:21Most people want to make something of their lives! 13:24In fact some of the experiments have shown 13:27that poor people, especially poor people, 13:29actually work more, when you give them a free grant. 13:32Because it gives them the opportunity 13:35to invest in their lives, or in their business, for example. 13:39The third objection, ladies and gentlemen, 13:42might be the most difficult to overcome. 13:46I hear people sometimes say: 13:48'Well, this is a great idea. 13:50We might be able to pay for it and I won't stop working, 13:53and maybe they won't too -- 13:56-- but er -- this is too big! 14:00You know, politicians nowadays they're too busy with themselves. 14:04And it's never going to happen, they're always shortsighted, 14:07and this is just too big an idea. 14:10I don't think it's going to happen.' 14:12Well, if that's what you're thinking, I want to introduce you to this man. 14:20You know him, right? 14:21This is Richard Nixon. 14:23The conservative president, 14:25the corrupt president, from the Watergate scandal? 14:28Yes! It was this man who almost implemented 14:32a modest basic income at the beginning of the 70s 14:34in the United States. 14:36It almost happened! 14:38His proposal got through the House of Representatives 14:42and it hit the Senate floor where doubts returned 14:45because some more progressive senators said: 14:47Oh, this is a great idea, but we want a larger basic income, 14:50so we're going to reject this proposal, and -- 14:52well, we never heard of it again. 14:55It's an almost forgotten episode in the history of United States. 14:59But it shows us that of course it's possible. 15:03Remember, once again: 15:05Utopias have a tendency of coming true. 15:09The end of slavery, 15:11equal rights for men and women, democracy, 15:13they were all regarded as impossible Utopian ideals once. 15:18But in history, there is something called progress, 15:21however slow and erratic it might be. 15:24All we need is a little more patience, sometimes. 15:29All we need is a lot more collective ambition. 15:34Now, I understand that a short TED talk is probably not enough to convince you 15:39that free money for everyone is going to be 15:41the biggest idea of the 21st century. 15:43So, I encourage you to read more about it, 15:45to look at the evidence for yourself, 15:47and think: Isn't it time to update my worldview? 15:53As I said, our ideas often lag behind the speed 15:58at which our societies and economies are changing. 16:01The basic income may not be implemented in the next 3 or 4 years, 16:05but it may be implemented in the next 30 or 40 years. 16:09Ideas can and do change the world. 16:12In fact, history is ruled by little else. 16:14It's like the famous Irish poet, Oscar Wilde, once said: 16:18'Stronger than a thousand armies is an idea whose time has come.' 16:24And I believe that in this century the time has come 16:26for free money for everyone. 16:29Thank you very much. 16:30(Applause)

Published on Oct 21, 2014

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Rutger Bregman (1988) studied at Utrecht University and the University of California in Los Angeles, majoring in History. In September 2013 Bregman joined the online journalism platform De Correspondent. His article on basic income was nominated for the European Press Prize and was published by The Washington Post.

In September 2013 Bregman joined the online journalism platform ‘De Correspondent’. His article on basic income was nominated for the European Press Prize and was subsequently also published by the American newspaper The Washington Post. In September 2014 his newest book ‘Gratis geld voor iedereen En nog vijf grote ideeën die de wereld kunnen veranderen’ came out.

Website: http://tedxmaastricht.nl Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tedxmaa... Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/TEDxMaastricht Twitter: https://twitter.com/TEDxMaastricht

About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Category Nonprofits & Activism License Standard YouTube License SHOW LESS COMMENTS • 1,608