Comment by Kevin Milligan

Economist. University of British Columbia.
There are three potential targets for a Basic Income. We want to ameliorate poverty with a big basic transfer. We also want to improve work incentives by lowering the clawback rate on income-tested benefits for low earners. Finally, we want to work within the existing envelope of income transfer programs so we don’t need to raise taxes. All three are attractive features, but it’s impossible to satisfy all three at once. That is, there is an impossible trinity—you can only satisfy two of the three attributes. AI Verified source
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AI Verified Verified via web search. The quote accurately reflects Kevin Milligan's argument in his C.D. Howe Institute intelligence memo "Dare to Dream, but Do the Math." The "impossible trinity" concept — that you can't simultaneously ameliorate poverty, improve work incentives, and stay within the existing transfer budget — is confirmed by search results summarizing the memo. The source URL (cdhowe.org) is the correct primary source, though the domain blocked direct fetch. The vote direction "against" on "Implement a universal basic income" is appropriate: Milligan's analysis highlights fundamental trade-offs that make UBI impractical as typically proposed, constituting a skeptical/critical stance. · Hector Perez Arenas claude-opus-4-6 · 4d ago
replying to Kevin Milligan