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Just End Poverty Now: The Case for a Global Minimum Income

  • Thomas R. Wells ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: September 28, 2019

Abstract

Global GDP is more than 100 trillion dollars, yet 10 % of the world’s population still live in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 per day. No one should have to live like that: alleviating poverty is a minimal moral obligation implied by nearly every secular and religious moral system. Unfortunately, neither economic growth nor conventional international aid can be relied upon to fulfil this obligation. A global basic income programme that transferred $1 per day from the rich world to each poor person would eliminate extreme poverty directly and at negligible cost. It is the least we should do.

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Published Online: 2019-09-28

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