45. The Netherlands on its own is too small for a basic income

   46. Basic income promotes immigration, especially of economic refugees

   47.UBI is discriminatory if not offered to  foreigners, who want to settle here

   48. Basic income promotes unwanted emigration

   49. Basic income promotes the closing of borders

 

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45. The Netherlands on its own is too small for a basic income

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Explanation

 

Implementation is actually only possible on a global scale, and we will never achieve that!

Either you give every European the same thing, but then it cannot be financed in the poorer states, or you make it state dependent, but then you have social tourism and inequality.

If it is only done in the Netherlands, complex regulations are needed for border traffic such as emigration and immigration.

In short, a basic income cannot be introduced properly by country or region; it must be introduced in a single operation in order to counteract international and interregional effects.

 

Refutation

 

The best option would of course be for basic income to be introduced worldwide or into a whole or half continent.

There is nothing against making the amount per country dependent on the prosperity and price level of that country.

Of course, arrangements will then have to be made as to what happens in the case of migration.

This is already the case - there are transitional periods for immigration before one can use the facilities of a country, and there are regulations on what can and cannot be taken into account when emigrating. Agreements can also be made about this with other countries. This can and must continue to be the case.

It is true that this type of regulation is an infringement of the simplicity of the basic income system, but we must realise that it affects only a small proportion of people, which is not a good reason for making it complicated for the others.

Incidentally, the introduction of a basic income in the Netherlands is expected to have many positive effects, regardless of what happens abroad. As soon as such effects become visible, this stimulates the introduction of a basic income abroad.

 

 

46. Basic income promotes immigration, especially of economic refugees

 

Explanation

 

Basic income promotes immigration, including that of economic refugees.

After all, we will become even more attractive to economic refugees.

This will lead to an influx of migrants, which will ultimately make the system unsustainable and reduce tolerance towards immigrants.

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Refutation:

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Whether or not our country becomes more attractive to economic migrants than we are today depends entirely on how we organise it. In addition, there is already a major distinction between economic refugees and so-called status holders.

There are transitional periods for immigration before one can use the facilities of a country, and there are regulations on what can and cannot be taken into account when emigrating. 

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47.UBI is discriminatory if not offered to  foreigners, who want to settle here

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Explanation

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Basic income discriminates against foreigners who want to come here.

The basic income makes it almost impossible for people from abroad to work and live here. It discourages immigration, because immigrants will earn little here but will have to pay a lot of tax. It is also easier to exploit the migrants who come here, because the minimum wage has been abolished and other labour rights have not been laid down.

Basic income discriminates against non-Dutch people in a negative way; it separates non-Dutch and Dutch people, thereby exacerbating immigration and integration problems.

 

Refutation

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This objection, too, is based on a certain way of implementing the Basic Income. Of course, this can be done differently.

If foreigners who come to the country are not yet entitled to a basic income during a transitional period, the employer who is eager to pay them extra wages cando so or we can introduce a special tax reduction for this. It does not have to be complicated and fraud-prone!

If such a regular basic income acts as a brake on illegal economic refugees, that is an additional advantage!

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 48. Basic income promotes unwanted emigration

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Explanation 

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With a basic income, a lot of talent will leave the Netherlands, because talent abroad is more rewarded and less exploited.

If we introduce a Basic Income, many people will live outside the Netherlands and continue to apply for a Basic Income, benefiting from high wages and low taxes abroad as well as from the Basic Income in the Netherlands.

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Refutation 

This objection is based on the assumption that basic income reduces the reward for effort and increases the tax burden on earnings. 

There are, however, many possibilities for completely or partially redefining the financing of the additional costs of basic income (turnover, assets, transactions, value withdrawn). In case of a sensible introduction, this will also have to be done in order to counteract the presumed effects.

Requirements can also be set for the place of residence of those who receive a Dutch basic income, as is also the case at present with part of the social security schemes.

See also the response to the objection The Netherlands is too small on its own for a basic income.

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49. Basic income promotes the closing of borders

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Explanation

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Where basic income has been introduced, everyone wants to live there. The result is an enormous suction effect. This can only be prevented by making the borders strong.

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Refutation 

First of all, it would be very wise to introduce basic income not only in one country, but also in a large group of neighbouring countries.

It is, however, necessary to draw up clear rules for migration - how long will it take to live somewhere before being entitled to a basic income, how long will you keep a basic income after leaving the country (or group of countries) with a basic income?

This is not very different from what is already the case today - there are a whole series of regulations on social security and migration.

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A basic income country is certainly attractive to (legal) migrants. For residents it is likely to be even more attractive. Therefore, if you do not want to enter the Basic Income, your residents will be denied quite a lot.

By the way, a country like ours is also very attractive with the current regulations for (legal) migrants, because after obtaining a status and after possibly applying for Dutch nationality it will become possible to receive benefits if one cannot provide one's own income. The introduction of a basic income does not need to change this.

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