Category: Basic Income

These days, all kinds of sensible and brilliant people, from Elon Musk to the prime minister of Finland , are voicing support for universal basic income . The idea of giving everyone—or at least some people—enough to lift them out of poverty without having to work some menial job is very of the moment. Executives like Musk are asked about it all the time, and executives like Musk generally think it’s a good call; the tech elite are some of the idea’s most enthusiastic supporters.

But among economists—who presumably would need to be on board if a basic income were […]

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A large poster in a square in Geneva, Switzerland, promoting the idea of a universal basic income | Photo: Reuters There are a wide range of notions of what a BI system might look like. Devotees of free market capitalism have their own vision.

In April of this year, the Ontario government is expected to release details of a pilot project that will study the effects of a very limited and rather dubious attempt at Basic Income or BI. As with similar experiments in Finland and the Netherlands, nothing approaching a universal payment will be put in place. Rather, a […]

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from Jayati Ghosh

There is a lot of buzz globally around the idea of a Universal Basic Income (or UBI). It is perceived as one way of coping with technology-induced unemployment that is projected to grow significantly in the near future, as well as reducing inequalities and increasing consumption demand in stagnant economies. Certainly there is much to be said for the idea, especially if it is to be achieved by taxing the rich and particularly those activities that are either socially less desirable or are generating larger surpluses because of technological changes.

Indeed, that is precisely the proposal of […]

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The concept of a basic income guarantee (BIG) has gained increasing traction on the left in recent years, for example being adopted as union policy by GMB and UNITE , being a manifesto commitment of the Green Party , and supported by John Mcdonnell , the shadow chancellor.

The concept is hardly new, with subsidized grain for plebian citizens being introduced by the populist Tribune, Gaius Gracchus in 123 BC. Indeed, as one of the currently touted arguments for a citizen income is founded on the idea that automation is creating a sub class of those permanently excluded from work, […]

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The trouble with UBI and variations of it like BIG is that it makes it too easy for 4 people to get together and share a house or apartment and live comfortably without working. 4 x $15000 = $60K which is quite comfortable (although not luxurious) for a household of 4.

A universal jobs program wouldn’t have that perverse incentive. It would be much less expensive because far fewer people would sign up for it, some people could leverage their work experience in the program into getting private sector jobs, and taxpayers would get back some value from […]

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On Nov. 8, 2016, financial assets in India faced the possibility of losing their values completely. This potential instability, along with the ongoing failures of India’s current welfare programs, has pushed the government to consider alternative methods for economic stability. Thus, the government introduced the idea of a universal basic income (UBI).

By replacing India’s current welfare programs with a universal income, families, rich or poor, could receive monthly stipends of equal amounts . The economic survey conducted on a UBI plan proposes a monthly stipend of 893 rupees ($13) per month, amounting to 7,620 rupees ($112) per person each […]

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Business Insider published an article based on an interview with co-founder of BIEN, Guy Standing, focusing on his analysis of the working class in the Western world.

Standing sees a growing class of “ precariat ” workers, caused by a political agenda promoting market-led competition since the 1970s. A significant group of this “precariat” is prone to listen to ugly voices playing on their fears and supporting neo-fascist populism as a result. This helps explain the election of Donald Trump in the US, but also Brexit and the popularity of Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders in Europe.

He refers to […]

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Elon Musk — the famed entrepreneur behind Tesla Motors and SpaceX, who now sits on a panel of economic advisors to President Donald Trump — was a featured speaker at the World Government Summit , held February 12 through 14 in Dubai.

In a dialogue with UAE Minister Mohammad Al Gergawi, Musk reaffirmed his belief (first expressed in a CNBC interview ) that “some kind of universal basic income is going to be necessary” to cope with unemployment due to automation of labor.

Musk’s attitude was not entirely optimistic, however. He noted that technological unemployment, and the resultant need for UBI, […]

Full Post at basicincome.org

Loud voice: A poster on the Plainpalais square in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 2016 — a month before the country held a referendum on an unconditional basic income. The Swiss who voted soundly rejected the proposal but the debate is far from over in the Alpine country. Picture: REUTERS SA does need radical economic transformation. Growth is snail-paced and inequality is increasing. The fog of political patronage is debilitating investment and future generations are ill-equipped to thrive in a changing economic landscape. Old ideas are tearing us apart rather than binding us together.

SA and the world need a utopian […]

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