Category: Basic Income

Posted by Abi Sutherland at 05:51 PM * 43 comments

There are many things I am not, among them an economist, a futurologist, a historian of labor, (a person who writes ‘an historian’,) or an expert on Universal Basic Income in any or all its variants.

But it’s pretty clear that the world economy is changing. Jobs are already being automated away; the advent of self-driving cars, trucks, and vans is going to take another big bite out of the labor market. Between that and the lack of a living minimum wage, one possible future is more people scrambling after […]

Full Post at nielsenhayden.com

The Canadian province of Ontario is to start giving some 2,500 people a basic income – money with no strings attached.

The project, which is expected to start later this year, is being designed to test whether a basic income should be given to all Ontarians living in poverty.

‘The government basically believes that if people have the security of knowing their basic necessities are taken care of, they will contribute to society,’ Dr Helena Jaczek, the minister running the scheme, told Apolitical. ‘And this is the point of the pilot, to see: what is the behaviour change? Does that security […]

Full Post at apolitical.co

Thinkstock image by digitalskillet MuskokaRegion.com

BRACEBRIDGE — The province of Ontario is looking for municipalities to take part in a basic income pilot project, but the District of Muskoka thinks they can do one better.

The project would see municipalities participating in a basic income pilot project that could see simplification for those receiving social assistance. However, community services commissioner Rick Williams said the odds of Muskoka being one of only three municipalities selected are low.“There are several communities actively seeking pilot status in both southern and northern Ontario,” he said.Where the commissioner thinks Muskoka could benefit is by example of […]

Full Post at www.muskokaregion.com

Finland becomes the first European country to pilot a basic income scheme. Could unconditional monthly sums curb mass unemployment and create more equal societies?

The Finnish government has launched a two-year experiment offering a guaranteed sum of €560 (£475) per month to 2,000 unemployed Finns. It hopes the pilot, which began on 1 January, will reduce bureaucracy and poverty, and boost employment. For the randomly selected participants, the cash sums will replace their existing social benefits and will continue to be paid even if they take up jobs. The current Finnish system can discourage people from finding jobs because even […]

Full Post at www.positive.news

Finland has begun delivering unconditional payments to unemployed citizens to test whether providing a universal basic income can help boost employment. Euro banknotes – Photo: iStock For the next two years, Finland’s social security agency Kela will deliver monthly payments of €560 ($584) to 2,000 randomly selected unemployed residents between the ages of 25 and 58.

The pilot will serve as the latest experiment in universal basic income (UBI) – an idea that is increasingly gaining traction as automation and technology threaten to displace much of the workforce into the future.

However, amid growing support UBI also faces much criticism, with […]

Full Post at www.publicfinanceinternational.org

In 2017, Finland, the Netherlands, Ontario, and even Oakland, California, will all turn into mini-laboratories for basic income .

A universal basic income is a social safety net of sorts. The government cuts everybody a monthly check to meet basic needs, no conditions. Unstable jobs and automation are among the forces driving these pilot programs, but they also highlight a growing movement to make government more experimental.

Matt Zwolinski , a professor of philosophy at the University of San Diego and a libertarian advocate of basic income, said he’s a big fan of social science experiments. “Even with policies I […]

Full Post at www.nwptv.org

On January 2nd, the Sociale Verzekeringsbank or Social Insurance Bank, transferred two payments of €198.38 into my bank account. One for each of my two boys, both of whom are under the age of six. The extra cash appears like magic every quarter (January, April, July and October), courtesy of SVB with a simple one-word note: kinderbijslag or child benefit.

Every family in the Netherlands with kids under the age of eighteen is entitled to the child benefit. The universal kinderbijslag is independent of the parents’ income. The amount increases when children get older to accommodate for extra expenses – […]

Full Post at www.findingdutchland.com

The Narendra Modi government is coming up with a report which is likely to endorse giving all Indian citizens a guaranteed Universal Basic Income (UBI). Thomas Colson wrote in Business Insider (BI) today (4 January) that the said report will be released this month. BI talked to Prof Guy Standing, one of the leading advocates of UBI, and he says the report by the government will term the idea as feasible and “basically the way forward.”

A pilot project in eight villages of Madhya Pradesh that Standing was closely associated with provided every person with a guaranteed basic income for […]

Full Post at swarajyamag.com

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Full Post at www.dailystar.co.uk