Como implementar e financiar um rendimento básico incondicional? Reflexões para o caso português e proposta de um projeto-piloto

This paper elaborates on the several possible ways to implement and finance a Universal Basic Income (UBI), paying specific attention to the Portuguese situation. It argues that while it does not seem possible to immediately implement a UBI at subsistence level only counting on resources from the Portuguese state budget (given the constraints of the Fiscal Compact) the overall goal of achieving it should not be put aside. It shows that the objections usually raised to this possibility are overrated, because they tend not to take into account either the impact of a reformulation of the Social Security system, or the possibility of introducing new taxes specifically devised to finance a UBI fund. The paper argues that the feasibility of the implementation of a UBI in Portugal hinges on several important caveats: to be politically feasible, it must be a deepening and not a replacement of the Portuguese Welfare State; its introduction must likely be gradual, starting from a partial basic income eventually increased in time; we must be open to several sources of funding, including from a possible European implementation. It also argues that a possible step in that direction would be the implementation of a UBI pilot project in Portugal.