Category: Basic Income

VIDEO: Campfire Convention panel “Universal Basic Income: A Utopian Vision or a Viable Reality?”

VIDEO: Campfire Convention panel “Universal Basic Income: A Utopian Vision or a Viable Reality?”

The inaugural Campfire Convention took place in August 12-14, 2016, in the English countryside. It featured a keynote address from Brian Eno, in addition to an array of panel discussions, music performances, and other events.

One panel discussion was on the topic of universal basic income: Universal Basic Income: A Utopian Vision or a Viable Reality? Basic income for all – a universal weekly payment for all eligible citizens – can lead to the kind of creativity needed in the sort of world we would all like to live in. Would we all qualify and how would we fund it? […]

Guaranteed basic income for all: An idea whose time has come?

Guaranteed basic income for all: An idea whose time has come?

Protesters dressed as robots demand a basic income for everyone during a demonstration at the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, Switzerland, in April 2016. An idea gaining traction in various part of the world is that everyone in society should receive an amount of money from the state to cover their basic cost of living. People would no longer be stigmatised on benefits, argue supporters.

Dependent women would become financially independent. People would be freed to care for the elderly, crime would fall and the general health of the population would improve. Particularly in an era of fears about future mass unemployment […]

An idea that should die after 2016: The Universal Basic Income

An idea that should die after 2016: The Universal Basic Income

I have been UBI-curious in the past. But after watching this year’s global political upheavals, I am now firmly against the idea of giving every American adult a government check, no questions asked.

The universal basic income — a universal payment to every adult, designed to support a basic living standard regardless of whether the recipient works — has never been a broadly popular idea.

But it has become subject of fascination for policy wonks across the ideological spectrum because of the goals it intends to serve: decoupling subsistence from wage labor (a goal of the left), replacing complex safety-net programs […]

What can governments do when jobs run out?

What can governments do when jobs run out?

As automation makes more jobs redundant, policymakers cannot put off discussing universal basic income as an option. (Shutterstock image) Martin Ford writes in the Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future that around 47% of total employment in the US, around 64 million jobs, have the potential to be automated perhaps within a decade or two. Europe is already facing a crisis of jobs. Youth unemployment in Italy stands around 36% while it is nearly 44% in Spain. Thanks to offshoring and automation, we are seeing a polarisation in the labour market that is […]

Universal basic income: the dangerous idea of 2016

The resurrection of universal basic income (UBI) proposals in the developed world this year gained support from some prominent Australians . But while good in theory, it’s no panacea for the challenges of our modern economy.

UBI proposals centre on the idea that the government would pay a flat fee to every adult citizen, regardless of his or her engagement in skill-building activities or the paid labour market, as a partial or complete substitute for existing social security and welfare programs.

Of the schemes run in developing places like Kenya, Uganda, and India, some have been evaluated statistically , delivering some […]

Finland Is Running A Basic Income Experiment, And There Is Much To Learn

Finland Is Running A Basic Income Experiment, And There Is Much To Learn

Taken from http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/78/590x/Finland-money-624756.jpg. The key problem at the moment, with discourse about basic income, is that evaluations do not go beyond the superficial or the general.

The key problem at the moment, with discourse about basic income, is that evaluations do not go beyond the superficial or the general. By generalising the policy concept of the basic income – of a guaranteed income provided by the government to citizens – and therefore ignoring the specifics or the permutations of different models through which basic income could be implemented, policymakers moot perspectives which are neither conclusive nor helpful. The same tired […]

Universal basic income: The dangerous idea of 2016

Universal basic income: The dangerous idea of 2016

Opinion Proponents of the universal basic income overlook its potential to be a reverse Robin Hood scheme. The resurrection of universal basic income (UBI) proposals in the developed world this year gained support from some prominent Australians.

But while good in theory, it’s no panacea for the challenges of our modern economy.

UBI proposals centre on the idea that the government would pay a flat fee to every adult citizen, regardless of his or her engagement in skill-building activities or the paid labour market, as a partial or complete substitute for existing social security and welfare programs.Of the schemes run in […]

Basic income is a radical idea bound for the political mainstream – here’s why

Basic income is a radical idea bound for the political mainstream – here's why

Here’s the best gift you can give this Christmas. Warm winter clothes for a child. Help a Syrian child survive the cold by providing a set of warm winter clothing. Your gift will kit out a vulnerable child with jackets, trousers, fleeces, boots or strong shoes, scarf and a hat. Writing Sparks Writing Life Brilliant Definition Definition For Politicians Today Politics Today People Politics 2016 Politics Truth And Interests snollygoster (n.) someone, especially a politician, who acts for personal gain instead of consistent, respectable principles. See more Ugh Truth Feminist Feels Social Shit Social Justice Equality Truths Feminism Tumblr […]

Build Your Own Basic Income

Build Your Own Basic Income

Basic income is a contentious – and common – subject these days.

The concept of robots taking over people’s jobs used to be something out of science fiction movies, but that’s not the case any longer.

Automation is real. It’s increasing and improving. And it seems increasingly likely that there will be far less jobs in the future, especially for people who lack the education, intelligence, or interest to participate in the new economy and workforce that will develop as a result.And so you have a lot of people who believe that basic income is the only possible solution at this […]

How Bitcoin Could Make Distributing a Universal Basic Income Actually Possible

Beyond the crypto realm, universal basic income has seen a little traction.

Swarm’s DCOs claims to provide a basic income, although Slepak thinks the inner workings need further explanation.

Basic income, and especially universal basic income, requires a secure, tamper-proof ledger that can be audited by anyone to ensure the safe delivery of funds,” Slepak said. Future tech could make it easier to implement basic income. A Group Currency must identify all members (because you don’t want any one member to receive multiple incomes). Future robots will nab your job, but cryptocurrency could save your income. @scottsantens : @darcnos […]