Should we get free food, housing and internet access? The idea is being taken seriously; Politicians are taking a serious look at proposals to hand out free 'basic services' to everyone who needs them.
Byline: Jonathan Walker
Should the Government provide us with free food,transport, a phone and an internet connection?
That's the question raised in a new report by academics.
It may sound like science fiction, butLabouris taking the idea seriously.
John McDonnell, Labour's Shadow Chancellor, said: "Rapid technological changes are a profound challenge for our economy and society. This report offers bold new thinking on how we can overcome those challenges and create an economy that is radically fairer and offers opportunities for all.
"It makes an important contribution to the debate around Universal Basic Income, and will help inform Labour's thinking on how we can build an economy that truly works for the many not the few."
It was published by the Institute for Global Prosperity, which is based at University College London.
Those involved include Jonathan Portes, a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at King's College, London, who was previously a senior economist at the Department for Work and Pensions and the Cabinet Office.
The report's authors call theiridea Universal Basic Servicesand say it would cost [pounds sterling]42bn.
But the idea is that you would also increase income tax, so that the Treasury would get the money back.
Specifically, they suggest cutting the personal allowance - the amount you need to earn each year before you start paying income tax - to [pounds sterling]4,300, down from [pounds sterling]11,500 now. It would mean even people on fairly modest incomes paid a bit more tax.
So in a sense, the services wouldn't be free any more than they are now. If you can afford to pay for them then you will, through the tax system.
But the proposal is meant to ensure that one way or another, everybody got the basic things they need in order to have a reasonable standard of living.
That would include somewhere to live, offered at zero rent with the people who need homes most first in the queue. There would be a seven-year building schedule, with the Government spending between [pounds sterling]6.1bn and [pounds sterling]13bn a year on new homes.
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Everybody would get a travel pass similar to the Freedom Pass which is currently provided to people over the age of 60. It would allow everyone to use public transport for free.
And everybody would have a free basic mobile phone and calls package, an internet service and a free TV licence.
There would also be...
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