Ideas from economic growth to unemployment reduction:
A Minimum Guaranteed Income for All Adults
Automatically top up income with a negative income tax
When individual falls below the poverty line, there could be an automated calculation potentially through Universal Credit that integrates with the HMRC. The research says that introducing a minimum guaranteed income saves in healthcare, mental health support, and increases overall employment stability. It is assumed that poor people are poor because they make bad choices, but this does not play out in the numbers. In poverty, individuals actually lose IQ points! If we had, a minimum income, homelessness would ultimately be eradicated, as long as a bank account could be based on their National Insurance number, which all adults have. We could d a gap analysis of people with an NI number that do not pay tax, and therefore are likely to be earning below the poverty line. We could base the minimum income contribution on these figures and automatically deposit the required top up into their account, with no judgement. To kick the programme off we could reallocate homeless charity budgets to cover the set up cost. Once established, the aggregate level of income tax should increase as more people are likely to be in work, especially if the income contribution is tied to opportunities to retrain. The the savings in mental health and physical healthcare could be diverted into education and training, particularly to manage normal living skills such as paying bills, managing food planning and how to integrate with local communities. I see it as establishing supportive communities of rehabilitation into reasonable living conditions, like the DIY SOS Veteran Programme. Some of the freed up homeless charity budgets could be used to refurbish vacant or derelict housing. Just a thought!
Automatically top up income with a negative income tax
When individual falls below the poverty line, there could be an automated calculation potentially through Universal Credit that integrates with the HMRC. The research says that introducing a minimum guaranteed income saves in healthcare, mental health support, and increases overall employment stability. It is assumed that poor people are poor because they make bad choices, but this does not play out in the numbers. In poverty, individuals actually lose IQ points! If we had, a minimum income, homelessness would ultimately be eradicated, as long as a bank account could be based on their National Insurance number, which all adults have. We could d a gap analysis of people with an NI number that do not pay tax, and therefore are likely to be earning below the poverty line. We could base the minimum income contribution on these figures and automatically deposit the required top up into their account, with no judgement. To kick the programme off we could reallocate homeless charity budgets to cover the set up cost. Once established, the aggregate level of income tax should increase as more people are likely to be in work, especially if the income contribution is tied to opportunities to retrain. The the savings in mental health and physical healthcare could be diverted into education and training, particularly to manage normal living skills such as paying bills, managing food planning and how to integrate with local communities. I see it as establishing supportive communities of rehabilitation into reasonable living conditions, like the DIY SOS Veteran Programme. Some of the freed up homeless charity budgets could be used to refurbish vacant or derelict housing. Just a thought!
|
Education for All, even in Covid-19 Lockdown
Internet for All At the moment, there are children who are not being educated at all. Why? They do not have internet access or the right devices to participate in online learning. These children, unless with parents who qualify for school attendance, will literally miss 6 months of school. It's not acceptable. There's a simple solution, designate the pupil premium additional funding to buy each child a laptop on loan, or even donated, with dongle for the duration of secondary school. Vision for an Innovation-Led Economy
Developing a National Creative Mindset This requires scaling from an organisational focus such as my suggestions for Financing an Innovation Culture, to a national attitude. It's about encouraging imagination and creativity in all ages, starting now and that is about more than grants. How can we reward creative behaviour, group ideation and collaboration across companies and industries to remain competitive whether we stay in the EU or not? Status: A massive change management operation is required! Support for Pensioners
Age-Tiered Pension Implementation The WASPI generation is only the start of our pension funding problem. We need an age-based tiered structure of change as our population grows older and to minimise the impact of policy transition. For example, we could introduce a community contribution based pension plan for the over 50s now. For people between 35 and 50, what about a collaborative based investment system like Moneybox to compensate for variable incomes and company pensions? Then a totally new system for the under 35s, perhaps remove inheritance tax and instead channel this tax revenue into the pensions for the next generation. Status: A mere germ of an idea! |
Child Poverty and Food
Improving future aspirations In researching homelessness, I came across a statistic that 30,000 children are living below the poverty line. Shocking! On consequence of this is malnutrition and the growth of reliance on foodbanks. I am currently involved with FareShare who are seeking to support two things: reduction in waste food and supplying single people and families with food at low cost. For a low monthly subscription, each member can choose a number of items with unlimited vegetables (depending on availability). It's not a foodbank, where the administration hoops to jump through are complex and lack dignity for the user, it's a service. Plus it's not just about food, families are supported, socialise and have fun! Action: Please join the FareShare Community Larders for an alternative weekly shop. Promoting Wellbeing
Mental Wellness for Organisations As an individual with bipolar, I have experienced various aspects of our mental health system. To introduce early intervention, we need to work with companies to introduce better wellness policies and support structures, reducing sickness and loss of productivity due to mental ill health. Could we then pool the savings and create funding for the mental health provision nationally? Status: Working with industry diversity group |
A Safety Net that Works
Social Security for the Future The benefits structure is not just about who's entitled to them and how to pay for the overall cost... Its about a fair society approach to assist people in times of need and support the return to employment effectively. Benefits need to be considered alongside taxes and income levels in a 3D structure. Currently after 16 hours of work, a family on benefits would experience a drop in overall income so how do we match this pro rata? How do we incentivise increasing working hours be improving overall income? How can we create choices for individuals throughout their life for the way they work, learn and develop their skills, parent and have protection for ill-health? Status: Seeking an economist to model the 3D idea and produce a workable plan! Blog on Unemployment and Economic Fairness Opportunities Throughout Life
Start Up Youth & Start Up University For budding young entrepreneurs to learn about starting their own businesses and help facilitate regional equality in the UK. The proposal is to implement training and support for entrepreneurs from the age of 14 years through to 21 years of age. The businesses they create would fund the institution through % profit share and acquisition revenue share as appropriate. Status: Seeking a delivery partner |
