There has been a lot of discussion and a tremendous amount of ongoing time, effort and money spent on (microcosm) trials especially in Europe and Scandinavia.
However, in addition to delaying the Citizen’s Dividend’s full-scale introduction, trials are not advocated for two main reasons:
- There will inevitably be a time-lag for the benefits (and also any negatives) to accrue; and, most importantly,
- They cannot produce any macroeconomic benefits (particularly the shift of the labour-market from being our principal income-Welfare mechanism to being largely deregulated), which means such benefits are left unmeasured.
In addition, they allow a sub-argument – i.e. whether to have a trial or not.
Then, even if implemented, as well as the years lost in trialing, as occurred in Canada, there can be a change in government, which decides to discontinue the trial midstream.
Lastly, in 1984, if Bob Hawke had decided we are going to trial Medicare then, to our loss, we probably still wouldn’t have it.
[Updated July 17, 2022]