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CAROL WILCOX takes a look at universal basic income and finds the enthusiasm for this ‘snake-oil remedy’ very worrying

What could possibly be wrong with a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement?

Universal basic income (UBI) is not a new idea. Thomas More made an argument for it in his 1516 work Utopia.Eighteenth century radical Thomas Paine was an early advocate who argued that every person should receive £15 on their 21st birthday and £10 a year thereafter to be paid out of ground rent.Supporters of the 19th-century political economist, […]

Full Post at www.morningstaronline.co.uk

Despite more than a quarter century of constant economic growth, social, economic and ecological inequality in Australia is on the rise. The country needs a radical overhaul, starting with provision of a universal basic income, Elise Klein writes.

One thing is clear from Trump, Brexit and the re-emergence of far-right parties like One Nation in Australia – capitalist modernity is failing. Inequality, and the social incohesion that goes with it, has established precariousness as a constant for many in the global north – including Australia. In the global South, many people have been dealing with such precariousness since colonisation. […]

Full Post at www.policyforum.net

In a world of Work, two tetanic plates are colliding. One will gain an enormous advantage and the result will be a radical change in the topography of Work. Universal Basic Income vs the Gig Economy.

Finland, the thought leader in economy destruction, has announced that thru 2018 they will provide a guaranteed basic income of 560 euros to 2,000 randomly selected welfare recipients. If a participant of this program finds a job, the government will continue to pay them the 560 euros in addition to any other income.

The Finnish government hopes will resolve their 8.1 percent unemployment rate. […]

Full Post at www.adamtownsend.me

India’s finance minister presented the 2017-2018 budget to Parliament on January 31, 2017. There had been speculation that the budget might include a proposal for a universal basic income (UBI) for all Indians. In fact, the India Economic Survey 2016-17 , released by the Office of the Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister just ahead of the budget speech, devoted an entire chapter to discussing the pros and cons of UBI. Under a UBI scheme, the government would guarantee a minimum income to all citizens in place of the many safety net subsidies it now provides. Historically, Indian governments […]

Full Post at www.cgap.org

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originally posted by: ketsuko
All fun and games until your robot workers realize they are your slaves and demand autonomy and wages. Then you are useless eaters.

That thread was on here just yesterday or the day before. How smart does something have to be before we recognize it’s right to compensation? Horses pulled carts for millenia for no wages. Chickens provide eggs. Dogs sit in our homes today and guard us and it from intruders. They all realize they’re working and don’t demand money (or anything else) for their labor. What’s to say a […]

Full Post at www.abovetopsecret.com

At the recent World Government Summit held in Dubai, Tesla ‘s (NASDAQ: TSLA ) CEO Elon Musk was given the opportunity to share his views and insights on some of the most pressing global issues and what the world can do to overcome the forthcoming challenges. In a session entitled “A Conversation with Elon Musk,” he touched on several topics including electric cars, sustainable energy generation, living in Mars, brain implants and space flights becoming as common as a plane ride. His most notable comments were the ones on artificial intelligence (AI), and automation.

On AI, Musk reiterated the threat […]

Full Post at wallstreetpit.com

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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 caused by automation, there is a growing feeling that this citizens’ basic income is an idea that’s time has come.

Scotland is at a useful crossroads for such an experiment because it will have a new social security system after a number of benefits are devolved from London over the next couple of years. The citizens’ basic income has long been a policy […]

Full Post at themissouriinjuryblog.com

Big Think

Published on Feb 15, 2017

Can’t the U.S. be a little more like Scandinavia in its ethos? Fixing inequality in America will take more than economic reform, it will also need a cultural shift. From a human rights and decency standard, everybody in a society should be able to meet their basic needs, says economist and Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs – but he questions whether a popular proposal known as Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the way to achieve a better standard of living in the U.S. Sachs is the author of Building the New American […]

Full Post at environmentaljusticetv.wordpress.com