Category: Basic Income

India considers giving cash handouts to citizens to eliminate poverty

India considers giving cash handouts to citizens to eliminate poverty

India is the latest and largest nation to consider giving cash handouts to its citizens in an effort to alleviate endemic poverty.

The notion, often called "universal basic income," has been gaining traction recently even in places that don’t have the same problems with poverty that India does, as the world’s second-most populous country .

India’s national poverty level was 70 percent when the country gained its independence in 1947, according to the report, and 22 percent in 2011- 2012, the most recent year for which data are available. Despite "making remarkable progress," a poverty rate of 22 percent in a […]

For Opposition, Govt’s prudence good news: ‘Relieved there’s nothing’

For Opposition, Govt’s prudence good news: ‘Relieved there’s nothing’

Officials carrying the copies of Central Budget 2017-18 that was presented in the Lok Sabha at Parliament house in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI Photo In the days that followed the November 8 demonetisation announcement, one refrain often heard was “Rukiye, Modiji Budget mein kuch denge, zaroor”.

And in the five states going to assembly polls, particularly Uttar Pradesh, this was also a cause for concern in the Opposition, worried that a “big populist idea” could create an uneven playing field in the countdown to the vote.

WATCH VIDEO |Budget 2017 Interview: Keki Mistry, Vice Chairman & CEO, HDFC On […]

Union Budget 2017: What is Universal Basic Income (UBI)? Why is it important?

Union Budget 2017: What is Universal Basic Income (UBI)? Why is it important?

Union Finance Minister on his way to present the Budget 2017-18. Source-www.pib.nic.in The Economy Survey 2016-17 talks about a big and important idea called the ‘Universal Basic Income’ or UBI, a minimum income which every individual can count on. This is important for India where a majority of people rely on seasonal employment through unorganised and unskilled jobs. UBI aims to give individuals choice and responsibility of spending an income according to their need. It is a shift of focus of beneficiaries, from households to individuals. UBI will involve direct cash transfers to bank accounts of beneficiaries. This is […]

SALFORD TO HOST WORLD’S FIRST BASIC INCOME CONFERENCE THIS WEEK

SALFORD TO HOST WORLD’S FIRST BASIC INCOME CONFERENCE THIS WEEK

World Basic Income claims to be a "new practical solution to global inequality and poverty" . The idea is that every person in the world, whatever their circumstances and no matter where they live, would be given money regularly in addition to what they earn at work or receive in state benefits.

The funding would come from, what the organisation World Basic Income (WBI) describes as, " harvesting a share of the wealth that our ancestors have built up over the centuries, and that the earth yields now ". With the world producing total wealth of $76trillion a year , […]

Annuities: Guaranteed Income Comes at a Price

Annuities: Guaranteed Income Comes at a Price

Image source: Getty Images. If you’re looking for a guaranteed stream of income throughout retirement, then an annuity may be the best option for you. Annuities offer lifetime income, tax-deferral, and many other benefits that can help to make your retirement financially secure. However, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Before you think about buying an annuity, you should know what those benefits and guarantees will cost you. Guaranteed income riders

One of the key features that many indexed and variable annuities now offer is called an income benefit rider, or living benefit rider. This rider will […]

Why Jaitley’s Union budget didn’t provide for universal basic income

Why Jaitley’s Union budget didn’t provide for universal basic income

Arun Jaitley say s India cannot afford to offer both subsidies and UBI. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint New Delhi: Indian politics currently lacks the maturity to give up subsidies for the greater goal of a universal basic income (UBI), finance minister Arun Jaitley said.

In an interview with DD News after presenting the Union budget for 2017-18, Jaitley said the country cannot afford to offer both subsidies and UBI. The Economic Survey presented in the Parliament on Tuesday had pitched the idea of a UBI.

“I think the Universal Basic Income is a wonderful idea. The Economic Survey is one of the […]

Universal Basic Income: Far-Fetched Or Future Fact?

Universal Basic Income: Far-Fetched Or Future Fact?

Universal Basic Income is a mega-trend outcome of the Fourth Industrial Revolution where robots replace humans en-masse. Technocracy’s city-state concept will reduce the value of human labor to near-zero, requiring government support for all. This kind of subsistence living is tantamount to slavery and permanent poverty. ⁃ TN Editor

It is a utopian idea, literally, but is enjoying a renaissance as politicians and policy wonks grapple with technology-driven changes that could redefine our very understanding of work.

If robots and machine intelligence threaten to render many white-collar jobs obsolete, then what will people do for money?Enter the concept of a “universal […]

Pensions – Articles – Savers take risks as guaranteed income choices shrink

MetLife have issued a new report calling for guarantees and guaranteed drawdown to form a central part of the Government’s new guidance framework to help prevent the unnecessary risks people are taking with their savings at retirement because they don’t understand the choices they face. Nearly half (45%) of retirement savers fear they have to take more risk because of a lack of choice for guaranteed income solutions for life More than two-thirds (67%) of advisers are concerned about the lack of choice for clients who want lifetime guaranteed income
MetLife report Guaranteeing Real Pension Freedom urges industry […]

Minister consults with Windsorites about basic income pilot project

Minister consults with Windsorites about basic income pilot project

Dr. Helena Jaczek the Ontario Minister of Community and Social Services addresses about 70 people at a public consultation for the basic income pilot project at the University of Windsor’s Vanier Hall Monday night.
This is the thirteenth of 14 public consultations into the idea providing a payment to individuals and families to make sure everyone has a minimum level of income. (Photo by David Lafreniere)

A representative of the Ontario government was in Windsor Monday night for continued public consultation into the idea of a cash transfer for low and no income people with no strings attached.
The idea of […]

Work, meaning, and the basic income

Written by: Michael A. Lewis

Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College

Back in the 1990s, I co-founded a group of academics and activists (some were both) called United States Basic Income Guarantee Network (USBIG). Since then, I’ve written a number of papers, book chapters, and other things in which I’ve argued for a basic income. I’ve also taught public policy courses where we’ve discussed this idea. Having been at this now for about twenty years, I’ve found that those skeptical about a basic income typically raise at least one of four objections: a basic income is […]