A basic income, or the end of welfare?

The idea of a basic income is attracting interest in countries all around the world. But is it affordable, and what would it mean for the welfare state? 

What would you do if your income was taken care of? In this Policy Forum Pod, four leading experts discuss the idea of a basic income – how it works, what it could do, and what it could mean for the future of the welfare state. Listen here: http://bit.ly/PFP_BI

In conversation with Policy Forum Editor Martyn Pearce are:

Professor Guy Standing
Guy Standing is an economist at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. He is the author of a number of well-known books including The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. He is also co-founder and current President of the Basic Income Earth Network – an organisation with thousands of members around the world (www.basicincome.org/).

Dr Charles Murray
Charles Murray is the WH Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC. Dr Murray is one of the world’s leading social policy researchers and the author of a number of best-selling books, including The Bell Curve which controversially looked at the role of IQ in shaping America’s class structure.

Professor Peter Whiteford
Peter Whiteford is the Director of the Social Policy Institute at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and a leading figure in the structure, design and cost of welfare, particularly in Australia.

Professor Olli Kangas
Olli Kangas is leading the research group planning a major basic income experiment in Finland. You can read more about that here: www.basicincome.org/news/2015/12/fi…t-what-we-know/