Category: Basic Income

Mayor: City’s guaranteed-income program would be biggest in U.S.

Mayor: City's guaranteed-income program would be biggest in U.S.

One of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s most unique budget proposals for spending close to $2 billion in federal COVID relief is a cash assistance program that would provide $500 per month for up 5,000 families for 12 months.

Who would be eligible is subject to debate within the City Council, but if the idea passed, it would be the biggest cash assistance program in the country, Lightfoot estimates. “In particular, we want to make sure we’re looking at households that have been deeply impacted by COVID-19 but also ones that won’t otherwise be served by other resources,” the mayor told Crain’s. […]

Universal Minimum Income: The whole world talks about it (and experiences it), this is Susidistan

Universal Minimum Income: The whole world talks about it (and experiences it), this is Susidistan

Universal Minimum Income: The whole world talks about it (and The two Mateos (Renzi and Salvini) return yesterday to jeopardize the citizenship’s income, which they assure will be destroyed immediately. Glasgow, Scotland, also started yesterday on the 22nd world congress of universal income This is an opportunity to show that the basic income question is not a frivolous game, but a global issue. And it is no coincidence that the Scottish Premier sent a message calling for the Scottish appointment, all online Nicola Sturgeon, Supporter of an income project.

Scotland. The Congress will run till August 21 and will […]

City staff says Evanston is still taking a revenue hit due to COVID-19 but expenses remain on track

The Evanston City Council saw a presentation of the midyear financial report last week as some revenues remain down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hitesh Desai, chief financial officer and treasurer for the city of Evanston, showed council members which revenues and expenses are on track for the remainder of the year and which areas need improvement.

The presentation demonstrated that revenue tied to economic activity in the general fund was still on track even as some activity-related revenues remain low. Expenses remain on target for the city’s 2021 goals.“The return of Northwestern students and the football season brings a lot […]

The Free Lunch experiment

The Free Lunch experiment

Sanjeeva Shukla

An independent news analyst, Sanjeeva writes on issues that intersect technology, business, governance, geopolitics and leadership.

Universal Basic Income – or UBI – is among the most vigorously debated ideas among certain neo-economists cutting across capitalist and socialistic divides. Mooting providing citizens a free monetary allowance every month to help them meet their basic needs, UBI is far from settling down in any policy groove in any country yet. A two-part essay on the heat and light around Universal Basic Income by Sanjeeva Shukla. Making Sense of the Free Lunch A dole is a dole is a dole. […]

Swiss campaigners launch new basic income plan

Swiss campaigners launch new basic income plan

A photo taken during the previous basic income campaign in Basel in June 2016. Five years after voters roundly rejected the idea, campaigners have again launched a people’s initiative aimed at introducing an unconditional basic income for all in Switzerland. This time they say they have clarified how it will be financed.

This content was published on September 21, 2021 – 13:18 September 21, 2021 – 13:18 Keystone-SDA/sb

The aim of the new initiative,“Live with dignity – for an unconditional basic income that is easy to finance”, is to secure a livelihood for everyone, to guarantee the right to a life […]

Swiss campaigners launch new basic income plan

Swiss campaigners launch new basic income plan

Five years after voters roundly rejected the idea, campaigners have again launched a people’s initiative aimed at introducing an unconditional basic income for all in Switzerland. This time they say they have clarified how it will be financed.

The aim of the new initiative, “Live with dignity – for an unconditional basic income that is easy to finance”, is to secure a livelihood for everyone, to guarantee the right to a life in dignity and self-determination and to value unpaid work, said the campaigners at the launch on Tuesday.

Under the scheme a basic monthly income of about CHF2,500 (CHF2,700) would […]

Tunisia: half of Tunisian population has no social coverage (ILO)

Tunisia: half of Tunisian population has no social coverage (ILO)

Despite the allocation of 7.5% of the Tunisian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to social protection, only 50.2% of the population has social coverage, leaving nearly half without a guarantee in case of illness, maternity or cessation of professional activity.

The share of Tunisian affiliates to social funds is above the world average (46.9%), Arab countries (40%) and African (17.4%), according to the World Social Protection Report 2020-2022 of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

However, in terms of the share of GDP devoted to social protection, Tunisia is ranked 3rd in Africa and 5th in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) […]

Fitch Ratings on South Africa’s prospects

Fitch Ratings on South Africa’s prospects

Credit rating firm Fitch Ratings says that South Africa’s economic prospects are improving, thanks to a better than expected financial performance in the second quarter – but it warns that crucial social and political issues remain.

Fitch said in a note on Tuesday (21 September), that a robust economic performance and stronger-than-expected fiscal revenue in recent months mean that South Africa’s budget deficit in the fiscal year ending March 2022 (FY21/22) will be smaller than the government’s projections in February 2021.

Economic growth in the second quarter of the year was stronger than expectations at 1.2% quarter on quarter, it said, […]

From Wednesday, Pick n Pays will be paying out R350 Covid-19 grants in cash

From Wednesday, Pick n Pays will be paying out R350 Covid-19 grants in cash

Special Covid-19 grants will be paid out at retail tills for the first time on Wednesday.

Pick n Pay says it will be the first retailer to offer cash collection of the special relief of distress (SRD) payments.

Recipients will be pre-assigned to the stores, and Pick n Pay has urged beneficiaries to check their collection point before arriving in stores. Boxer stores are included, but BP Pick n Pay Express, Pick n Pay Clothing and Pick n Pay Liquor stores will not be paying out grants. Retailers have kept a close eye on the […]

South Africa moves closer to basic income in wake of civil unrest

South Africa moves closer to basic income in wake of civil unrest

South Africa is considering introducing a major income grant after poverty and report joblessness helped inflame the nation’s worst post-apartheid violence.

Better than 330 people died all through per week of violence in July, which ended when troops have been deployed on to the streets of its important cities. Whereas the speedy cause behind the unrest was the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma for contempt of courtroom, it was exacerbated by poverty and the pandemic.

South Africa’s nationwide treasury knowledgeable lawmakers this month that it had commissioned evaluation on cash funds to alleviate poverty. President Cyril Ramaphosa beforehand signalled that […]