Category: Basic Income

Finland Begins Universal Basic Income Experiment for the Unemployed

Finland Begins Universal Basic Income Experiment for the Unemployed

Finland kicked off the New Year by rolling out a groundbreaking trial that will give some of its citizens a universal basic income, in a bid to reduce poverty and increase employment. Little over a year after the Finnish government first announced its plan to eventually replace earnings-based social insurance benefits with a basic income, the first unconditional monthly payments of €560 ($587) began on Jan.1, reports the Associated Press. According to AP, 2,000 people, all currently on unemployment benefits, have been chosen at random to take part in a two-year pilot trial. The basic income will be deducted […]

It’s Either Basic Income or Chaos

It’s Either Basic Income or Chaos

Basic income has been a pretty hot button topic recently. Forbes says it could help our society’s productivity . The Guardian says it’s an absolute necessity . The New Economy calls it a socialist fairytale.

I say it’s either basic income or total and utter, scorched earth, death match for drinking water, cannibalistic chaos.

To put it in simplest terms, basic income is a set amount of money every citizen would receive in order to ensure a basic standard of living. It would be given to all citizens, from those with nothing all the way up to billionaires ( hoarders […]

A contentious proposal

A contentious proposal

Surjit Bhalla, in his article, ‘Financing basic income for the bottom 50 per cent’ (IE, January 7) has made several policy recommendations for poverty alleviation. He has suggested Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a logical extension of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and scrapping of government schemes like the PDS and MGNREGA for financing the UBI. The interest in UBI seems to be building up significantly from several quarters and it is quite possible that the government is contemplating some steps in this direction in the upcoming budget. In view of this, Bhalla’s recommendations are extremely significant and require […]

Universal Basic Income: What If the Problem Isn’t Automation but Work Itself?

Universal Basic Income: What If the Problem Isn’t Automation but Work Itself?

Rethinking Paid Work

We’ve all been warned about the upcoming machine takeover in the world of work. Studies have shown that 47 percent of jobs in the United States are expected to be replaced by smart machines and other forms of automated systems in the next decade or so. In Southeast Asia, about 137 million workers are bound to lose their jobs to automation in the next 20 years.

This all seems inevitable. In fact, it’s already happening for some companies including Walmart , Barclays , and a life insurance firm in Japan — not to mention Amazon Go , […]

Universal basic income dominates French Socialists’ primary debate

Rebel Socialist Benoît Hamon, who resigned as education minister in protest at what he saw as the government’s rightward drift, has made the basic income proposal his key policy and Jean-Luc Bennahmias, the leader of the small Democratic and Ecologist Union, also backs the call.

And the question provided the only real controversy in the first of three televised debates ahead of the primaries to be held on 22 and 29 January.

To read our profiles of the seven candidates click here Former prime minister Manuel Valls dismissed it as contrary to his vision of a “society of work”, Euro-MP […]

Universal Basic Income and Women’s Liberation

From 1971 to 1978, the UK women’s liberation movement held ten national conferences at which it formally adopted a total of seven key demands. The fifth of these demands, added in 1974, was for financial and legal independence for women, accepted with widespread support across all wings of the movement. It is indeed difficult to imagine a form of feminism which does not, in a money-based society, insist that women have their own means of financial support as a way of avoiding being trapped by economic dependence in coercive, perhaps abusive, relationships.

It is therefore perhaps ironic that the question […]

Universal Basic Income

Universal Basic Income

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The persistence of high inequality and the prospect of job losses owing to automation in the advanced world has led several advanced economies to consider the idea of a universal basic income (UBI) to guarantee their citizens a minimum level of income support.

The same idea seems to be gaining favour among a growing number of economists and policymakers in India, but for different reasons. Whether the UBI is effective? It is not clear that the money actually reaches the poor. So the question is whether the UBI is a more effective way of reaching the poor that the […]

The case for a Universal Basic Income – Launch Event 26/1/2017

The case for a Universal Basic Income - Launch Event 26/1/2017

Come along and hear about an idea that is gaining traction around the world and could transform our society.

The Buchanan Institute is proposing a universal basic income , a guaranteed weekly or monthly payment for all citizens, that will provide everyone with a secure financial foundation to build their lives. We are delighted to be launching in partnership with the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and that one of our confirmed speakers is Cllr Matt Kerr , who is leading the efforts to implement a basic income pilot for Glasgow citizens.

This is a chance to come and hear and […]

Will Jaitley take a cue from J&K and opt for Universal Basic Income in the budget?

New Delhi: Days before the Union budget which will be presented in the backdrop of disruptions caused by the demonetisation drive, the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government became the first to commit to a Universal Basic Income for all citizens living below the poverty line by providing direct benefit transfers, raising expectations that finance minister Arun Jaitley may follow suit.

In his third budget speech on Wednesday, J&K finance minister Haseeb Drabu said he would want to create a social security fund and provide a “Universal Basic Income” to all those living “below the poverty line” through a direct benefit […]

Universal basic income dominates French Socialists’ primary debate

Universal basic income dominates French Socialists' primary debate

The seven candidates to be Socialist-backed presidential candidate before the debate Reuters/Philippe Wojazer

A rebel Socialist’s call for a universal basic income dominated the first of three debate’s between the seven would-be centre-left candidates for France’s presidential election this year.

Rebel Socialist Benoît Hamon, who resigned as education minister in protest at what he saw as the government’s rightward drift, has made the basic income proposal his key policy and Jean-Luc Bennahmias, the leader of the small Democratic and Ecologist Union, also backs the call.And the question provided the only real controversy in the first of three televised debates ahead of […]