Reducing poverty and inequality

Abstract

This chapter discusses the ways in which a Citizen's Basic Income would reduce poverty and inequality. It first considers how the word ‘poverty’ makes the measurement of the extent of poverty problematic, and suggests an alternative definition that focus on removing the barriers to social inclusion. It then explains how a Citizen's Basic Income scheme could reduce poverty at the point of implementation and how it could also help to repair social rifts and thus the deeper social structures that generate income inequality and other inequalities. It also examines the redistributional effects of a Citizen's Basic Income, and more specifically how it would change the ways in which income is redistributed. In addition to its impact on income redistribution, the chapter shows how a Citizen's Basic Income would lead to a redistribution of the ability to raise one's net income without causing too much burden on high-earning households.