Category: Basic Income

Reuters At least two recent news reports in the foreign press seem to suggest that the Indian government could soon consider paying the citizens a basic income. A 3 January report in Business Insider and a 4 January report in UK-based The Independent say that the Indian government could implement the idea of Universal Basic Income (UBI), which will make all citizens eligible to get free money irrespective of whether they are employed or not or have other sources of income.

Both Business Insider and The Independent cite professor Guy Standing, an economist who co-founded an advocacy group, Basic Income […]

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(© picture-alliance/dpa) The idea of a basic income will hopefully be further developed, Kaleva writes: “The experiment should provide an answer to the burning question of whether a basic income will boost employment or not. The goal of a basic income is to simplify the social security system, to remove obstacles to motivation and to reduce the stifling bureaucracy that tends to lead to passivity. The relationship between incomes and social benefits is currently a complex one, where everything affects everything else and there is no incentive for personal initiative. … Hopefully the experiment being conducted by the social […]

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One of the most propulsive forces in our social and economic lives is the rate at which emerging technology transforms every sphere of human labor. Despite the political leverage obtained by fearmongering about immigrants and foreigners, it’s the robots who are actually taking our jobs. It is happening, as former SEIU president Andy Stern warns in his book Raising the Floor , not in a generation or so, but right now, and exponentially in the next 10-15 years .

Self-driving cars and trucks will eliminate millions of jobs, not only for truckers and taxi (and Uber and Lyft) drivers, but […]

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Finland Is Testing It, but Basic Income Could Break the Modern Welfare State

The country of Finland will give 2,000 of its citizens a basic income—amounting to €560.00/$587.00—for nothing. The rock band Dire Straits used to sing about Money for Nothing in 1985. But even in their interpretation, you would have to know how to strum a tune on a guitar before the money would come. Is basic income such a nutty idea as to cause economic collapse?

Not in Finland, which is one of the first to apply the “concept” of basic income. A lottery will determine the […]

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Farmers protest falling prices and the plight of the Finnish agriculture sector. Helsinki, Finland. March 11, 2016. LONDON ― A groundbreaking pilot project launched this week in Finland. The government is going to give a randomly selected group of 2,000 unemployed citizens a monthly income of $587 with no strings attached and no need to report how they spend it. The project aims to test the feasibility of a program ― called basic income ― that’s worked in earlier pilot projects elsewhere in the world.

Basic income ― also known as universal basic income and basic minimum income ― is […]

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Finland has recently begun a two-year trial providing basic income for the unemployed. The concept of a universal basic income, which aims to supply a monthly stipend regardless of employment, has gained currency in recent years. Finland, however, is the first country in Europe to put the idea into practice. Under the new provisions, 2,000 unemployed citizens, selected at random, will receive €560 (£460) per month. The amount will be deducted from the recipient’s other benefits. There are no restrictions on how the money is to be spent and the salary will continue if recipients find work.

The move was […]

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Lately (particularly on NPR) I’ve been hearing more and more serious talk about the idea of a "Universal Basic Income," whereby everyone is simply given a monthly "salary" to live on, the figures ranging from US$10,000 per year to US$24,000 per year—enough to pay food & shelter basics. It would ideally replace many or most of the existing band-aid social services and assistance programs that carry expensive bureaucracies and cumbersome needs-testing.

Under the U.S. capitalist regime at least, a universal basic income would itself be one big band-aid, essentially compensation, "hush money" for tolerating the continuing mass rake-off of the […]

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The SNP passed a motion in support of universal basic income at their conference last year Getty Images A councillor has backed the introduction of a universal basic income in Scotland because he says it is the best way to tackle poverty.

A radical scheme to give every citizen a universal basic income (UBI), regardless of whether or not they work, is set to be piloted by two Scottish councils this year.

Labour-run Glasgow and Fife councils are designing trial schemes following meetings held late last year.It has not yet been announced what level the basic income will be set at, […]

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Started on January 1st Finland will be giving 2000 of their unemployed a free income of 560 Euros per month. This program will last for 2 years as an experiment to measure the effects universal income will have on employment and to review their social security system.

Articles:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/finland-has-new-social-experiment-giving-people-free-money-180961684/ http://basicincome.org/news/2016/10/finland-kelas-report-basic-income-experiments-released-english/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/03/finland-trials-basic-income-for-unemployed Some countries like Brazil and Uganda have also started similar experiments or programs to help poverty and see the effects.Articles: http://basicincome.org/news/2016/12/brazil-basic-income-startup-gives-lifetime-basic-incomes-villagers/ http://basicincome.org/news/2016/11/uganda-two-year-basic-income-pilot-set-to-launch-in-2017/ What is universal basic income (UBI) ? My simple understanding is that it is a periodic payment of cash or equivalent to an […]

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