A National Dividend vs. a Basic Income - Similarities and Differences

The following article will briefly compare and contrast the Social Credit proposal of a National Dividend, which was one of the three key planks in C.H. Douglas' monetary reform proposals, with the contemporary call for the introduction of a basic income. In some ways, the National Dividend and the basic income (as typically conceived) are quite similar. One of the basic purposes of each is to eliminate or at least reduce poverty by providing each citizen with a secure income that is independent of employment. However, when it comes to the structural nature of the proposed benefit, its relationship to the existing social structure, and, finally, the methods that have been proposed for financing it, there are significant differences between the National Dividend and a conventional basic income that must not be overlooked.