Instant Alert: Basic income experts say Trump could be the radical change America needs

Instant Alert: Basic income experts say Trump could be the radical change America needs

by Chris Weller on Jan 23, 2017, 2:01 PM Advertisement

For many Americans, President Trump’s appeal lies in his radical departure from how traditional politics is done. For advocates of universal basic income, a form of income distribution that seeks to end poverty by paying everyone a standard salary just for being alive, it might just be the radical change America needs. Basic income’s biggest selling point — at least in theory — is that it could directly lift people out of poverty. Since people would no longer struggle to cover basic expenses like food, clothes, and home […]

Basic income experts say Trump could be the radical change America needs

Basic income experts say Trump could be the radical change America needs

Donald Trump For advocates of universal basic income, a form of income distribution that seeks to end poverty by paying everyone a standard salary just for being alive, it might just be the radical change America needs.

Basic income’s biggest selling point — at least in theory — is that it could directly lift people out of poverty.

Since people would no longer struggle to cover basic expenses like food, clothes, and home repairs, they’d have more money to stay active members of society, whether they worked or not.Now that Trump is president, advocates wonder what kind of administration Trump will […]

Finland’s Basic Income Program Could Prove Experimenting is Worthwhile

Finland's Basic Income Program Could Prove Experimenting is Worthwhile

Finland has become the first country in Europe to experiment with a universal basic income program. It will include 2,000 unemployed Fins, selected at random, and the rest of the world is waiting to see how it turns out. But whatever the outcome, the fact that it’s taking place should serve as an inspiration for other countries, like the United States, as they try to find policies that meet future challenges , such as job automation , that stand to change the landscape of labor.

The two-year, nationwide experiment is designed to test the effects of a universal basic income […]

Universal basic income scheme: Economic Survey to weigh on cost-benefit of UBI

The Economic Survey 2016-17 to be presented on January 31 is expected to assess the costs and benefits of launching a Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme that seeks to provide a minimum income to citizens. While a pure UBI advocates the government guaranteeing a minimum income level for all citizens, irrespective of their income, India, if it were to go ahead with a scheme on these lines, is more likely to tweak the broader concept to target people facing abject poverty.

The Survey will seek to initiate the debate around this, even though it is unlikely that the budget for […]

A case for Universal Basic Income – An Analysis !!

A case for Universal Basic Income - An Analysis !!

Even after three decades of sustained economic growth and a proliferation of welfare schemes, roughly one in three Indians still live below the poverty line, according to the last report on poverty estimates submitted by the Rangarajan committee in 2014.

While those estimates have been questioned, the fact remains that there is little dispute over the fact that too many Indians remain trapped in poverty. The persistence of poverty and significant leakages in welfare schemes that aim to alleviate it has prompted many academics and policymakers to explore more efficient alternatives to India’s creaky and leaky welfare architecture. One […]

The Brief: France’s Bernie Sanders gives Brussels a sleepless night

The Brief: France’s Bernie Sanders gives Brussels a sleepless night

FRANCE’S BERNIE SANDERS GIVES BRUSSELS A SLEEPLESS NIGHT

The French presidential elections keep throwing up problems for Brussels, which is keeping an uneasy eye on developments in Paris.

If it isn’t the nightmare scenario of a National Front victory and the possibility of Frexit, it’s François Fillon telling Angela Merkel that sanctions on Russia are totally pointless.But it isn’t just right wing politicians keeping Brussels awake at night.Emmanuel Macron brings his own headaches and now there is the rise of Benoit Hamon, France’s answer to Bernie Sanders.Hamon will fight ex-Prime Minister Manuel Valls for the nomination after he triumphed in the […]

Peterborough wants in: Local basic income group hosts community discussion

Peterborough This Week

A Peterborough organization wants the Province to hear its residents’ views on poverty reduction at an upcoming dinner and community discussion – especially those who are living on low incomes.
The Basic Income Peterborough Network’s co-founder, Susan Hubay, says her group will host a dinner and community discussion on Jan. 26 to “make sure those local voices are heard.”
With the Province currently holding community consultations across Ontario to gather input on the design and implementation of the pilot, Hubay wants to make sure Peterborough isn’t left out. Basic income is a monthly payment that ensures […]

Letters

The guiding principle

"As long as Americans believe their country has vital interests everywhere on earth, they will be led by people who believe the same." This is from The Brothers by Stephen Kinzer.

Fundamental assumptions that guide American foreign policy today have not changed much since the Dulles brothers were in charge of the State Department and the CIA at the same time during the 1950s and ’60s. I believe exceptionalism, their guiding principle, has led to the deaths of millions and chaos in the world today.When will we as a nation learn to be a good citizen of the […]

Fife to open investigation into citizen’s income as MP attends launch event

Fife to open investigation into citizen's income as MP attends launch event

Locals, councillors, business and MPs to attend event on universal basic income implementation in Fife

THE CITIZEN’S BASIC INCOME NETWORK (CBIN) in Scotland will hold an event to investigate the feasibility of a citizen’s income for local politics in Fife.

It will be attended by SNP MP Ronnie Cowan, Paul Vaughn who is head of community and corporate development on Fife Council and Karl Widerquist who is an associate professor at Georgetown University in the US.The event will take place on Saturday 28th January at Kelty community centre will look at the prospects for setting up a pilot scheme […]

[OPINION] Money for nothing: has the time come for universal basic income?

[OPINION] Money for nothing: has the time come for universal basic income?

The Conversation | about 4 hours ago This article first appeared on The Conversation .

Money for nothing is not just a song from 1985 by Dire Straits but also, it seems, a new wave of policies supporting the government providing an income for citizens, regardless of their economic activity.

Benoît Hamon, the surprise winner of the first round of the socialist primaries in France, is the latest high-profile supporter of the idea. But across the world, experiments in universal basic income are already exploring the option of paying individuals a flat rate of income, unaffected by their participation […]