Editor,
A few of your online bloggers today suggested Guyana needs a Basic Income program. As an additional social-safety-net program, I rise to endorse such a program. An oil rich country (soon to be a one billion USD oil income each year) can indeed easily support a Basic Income program.
Do a quick study, see what it costs – and if affordable and can be budgeted, let it be. An oil rich country can only earn respect at home and abroad for ensuring all of its citizens live above the poverty threshold. I would like to suggest a few criteria for a Supplementary Basic Income program:
(1) Only folks who have a “hustle” (selling mangoes, coconut, cold water and cakes etc. on the side of the road or wherever) can be eligible for this program. They must report their income for a 3-month period. Determine the average shortfall between what they make and the Poverty threshold Income – and give them a monthly check for the difference.
(2) Limit its duration for 6-months. Beneficiaries must attend classes for GED or trade skills. Get help from the Employment Office to place them in a job. No job, extend Supplementary Basic Income for another 6-months
. It must be a monitored/supervised program. Set up a Unit in the Social Services Ministry to run the program.
Supplementary Basic Income program must have time limits so as not to undermine the nation’s work ethic. And, it must be available only for folks who currently have been surviving on a “hustle”.
There could be an estimated 25,000 able-bodied citizens (out of an estimated working age population of 500,000) engaged in a “hustle” survival mode. These folks definitely need supplementary income plus opportunities for skills training.
This program must not be confused with any other social-safety net program. Design it strictly for folks who go out every day to do a “hustle”, so they can have food on the table. They must have records to show how much money they make each day.
Nobel Laureate, Sir Arthur Lewis (1979) always emphasized: (1) The need for proper record keeping; (2) there should be no informal (parallel, underground) economy. Everyone should be on the books. Countries like India and Pakistan have huge informal economies – an estimated 30 percent of the workforce work off the books – creating huge problems for economic and social planners. Guyana should aim at getting all workers accounted for in the formal economy.
Sincerely,
Mike Persaud
