Category: Basic Income

Finland Begins Paying Cash to Unemployed; India and Scotland Considering the Scheme?

Finland Begins Paying Cash to Unemployed; India and Scotland Considering the Scheme?

On January 1, 2017, Finland became the first sovereign nation to implement a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for its citizens. Under this scheme , the government randomly selects 2,000 citizens from those currently receiving unemployment benefits or an income subsidy. For the next two years, the selected Finns will receive EUR 560 ($587) a month regardless of whether they work or not. If the experiment proves to be successful, a UBI will be granted to all Finnish citizens. A large poster in a square in Geneva, Switzerland, promoting the idea of a universal basic income. Universal Basic Income, first […]

Robots, Universal Basic Income, and the Welfare State

Robots, Universal Basic Income, and the Welfare State

Evidence thus far questions the assumption that robotics are eliminating jobs. INET Senior Vice President for Programs Rick McGahey says the UBI debate should focus on the long-term weakening of labor’s bargaining power

Welfare states in developed economies are being hit from all directions. Some argue they are too expensive; others see them as inadequate to new economic challenges. Their failure to address the needs of working class voters are blamed for the rise of what Mark Blyth calls the “neonationalism ” seen in the Brexit vote, the Trump presidential victory, and the strength of nationalist candidates in France, Italy, […]

The economist behind Universal Basic Income: Give all citizens free money to help combat a ‘neofascist wave of populism’

The economist behind Universal Basic Income: Give all citizens free money to help combat a 'neofascist wave of populism'

Professor Guy Standing Wikimedia Commons In 2011 Guy Standing, then an economist at the University of Bath, prefaced his new book with a warning.

He described a growing class of "precariat" workers, alienated by a western political agenda which had, since the 1970s, promoted market-led competition above job security. Real wages across the west had stalled for decades and "flexible" work was becoming the norm, leaving many millions around the world in "without an anchor of stability."

This precariat, he said, "are prone to listen to ugly voices, and to use their votes and money to give those voices a political […]

Finland: Interview with Tapani Karvinen, from the Pirate party

Finland: Interview with Tapani Karvinen, from the Pirate party

As we’ve reported here , the Finnish government is starting a two-year experiment on a basic income. When the government announced it in last August, a Basic Income News editor conducted a series of interviews in Finland. Summaries of those with the government and a long-term advocate , the Greens , and the Pirates were published here.

This is a longer version of the interview with Tapani Karvinen, who is a politician from the Pirate Party of Finland. He served as the chair of the party between 2014 and 2016. His response to the government’s press release on the experiment […]

The Blockchain Could Support Finland’s New Basic Income

The Blockchain Could Support Finland’s New Basic Income

business and finance application Finland is embarking on a social experiment by providing 2,000 citizens a guaranteed basic monthly income. Finland is embarking on a two-year social experiment to provide a tax-free €560 ($587) monthly payment to be spent with no imposed restrictions. The 2,000 participants, who were randomly selected on January 1 st , had to already be receiving unemployment benefits or an income subsidy in order to be considered. If successful, the program would potentially be expanded to include other eligible Finnish citizens such as low-income groups consisting of freelancers, small-scale entrepreneurs, and part-time workers.

The government’s rationale […]

Basic Income

https://qz.com/876985/finland-hopes-to-dispel-one-of-the-biggest-critiques-of-a-basic-income/ In this trial period, 2,000 people aged 25 to 58 will get the monthly stipend and won’t have to report how they spend it. The trial will determine if basic income can become a “a blueprint for the Finnish social security system,” the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, or Kela, said. The scheme isn’t fully universal. Only people on unemployment benefits will be eligible and they will keep getting the money even if they get a job.

Many people say that a basic income removes the incentive for people to find work, but Finland doesn’t see it that way. […]

Finland Tests Plan to Replace Welfare State

Finland Tests Plan to Replace Welfare State

Finland is launching a “radical experiment” to see if a simple monthly payment can replace the nation’s ever-expanding tangle of welfare programs.

The monthly payment, dubbed a guaranteed minimum income, or “universal basic income,” is an idea that has been kicked around for years as a replacement for the traditional welfare state. It has some prominent conservative advocates , including Charles Murray today, and luminaries such as Friederich Hayek and Milton Friedman in the past. In various versions of the basic income plan, everyone is paid the same stipend from the government, or everyone whose income falls below […]

NDA considers Universal Basic Income for all citizens

NDA considers Universal Basic Income for all citizens

The NDA government pitches for a regular state payment to all citizens regardless of their employment status. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint New Delhi: The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government seems to be considering the idea of a “Universal Basic Income” or a regular state payment to all citizens regardless of their employment status.

According to a report on the Business Insider website, dated 3 January, the move aims to provide a safety net for all citizens and remove inefficient benefit systems currently in place.

The report cites Professor Guy Standing, an economist who co-founded the Europe-based advocacy group Basic Income […]

Finland’s Basic Income Experiment Hopes to Reduce Poverty

Finland's Basic Income Experiment Hopes to Reduce Poverty

Olli Kangas from the Finnish government agency KELA , which is responsible for the country’s social benefits, said the scheme’s idea was to abolish the "disincentive problem" among the unemployed.

Regardless of whether they find employment, decide to invest the money or splurge on a holiday, participants in the experiment will receive the same tax-free money at the beginning of each month.

Finland hopes the experiment would decrease the country’s 213,000 or almost 8.1 percent unemployed citizens out of the 5.5 million total population.Daniel Wallenius, a 27-year-old student from Oulu, believes the basic income is a good initiative and it is […]

Will govt put Rs 500 in citizens’ bank account?

Will govt put Rs 500 in citizens’ bank account?

Geneva-based expert Guy Standing hints at such a possibility Guy Standing is working on the scheme globally for the last 30 years In the run-up to the last Lok Sabha polls, Narendra Modi has promised that he would deposit Rs 15 lakh after getting all the stashed black money abroad. Well, that still remains a pipe dream, but it looks like the Centre is planning something similar, albeit on a lower scale.

Taking a leaf out of Finland, the government is reportedly planning to deposit at least Rs 500 — to begin with — in every bank account holder’s account. […]