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Scottish government ‘interested’ in universal basic income

Scottish government 'interested' in universal basic income

Universal basic income is seen as a way to reduce poverty and inequality The concept of a universal basic income is of "interest" to the Scottish government as one potential option to reducing poverty and inequality.

Social Security Minister Jeane Freeman said she was "watching" the impact of pilots in Finland, Holland and Canada.

She also expressed interest in proposed pilot schemes in Glasgow and Fife.A universal basic income offers all adults a non-conditional flat-rate payment. Models have varied, but in some any income they earn over this is subject to progressive rates of tax.Ms Freeman told BBC Scotland that a […]

In the Automation Debate, Don’t Forget the Job Multiplier Effect

In the Automation Debate, Don’t Forget the Job Multiplier Effect

Emsi Senior Economist/Co-Founder In his 1950s satire Player Piano , author Kurt Vonnegut describes a dark dystopia where automation has led to a world of meager consumption and desperate idleness. The vision of workers displaced by machines predates this though, and is perhaps most associated with the 19 th century Luddite movement where workers sabotaged machinery for fear of losing jobs. In economic thought, the prospect of labor-replacing technology has a still much longer history.

The opinion of most economists has been that “Luddite fears” are misplaced. New technology is economically synonymous with increased efficiency, new and cheaper products, […]

The definition of “maximum employment” needs updating

The definition of “maximum employment” needs updating

“IT IS fair to say the economy is near maximum employment,” said Janet Yellen, chairman of the Federal Reserve, in recent comments preparing markets for rate rises to come. But “maximum employment”, like pornography, is in the eye of the beholder. American adults, of whom only about 69% have a job, seem less than maximally employed. In previous eras, governments of countries scarred by economic hardship set themselves the goal of “full” employment. Today, the target is termed “maximum”. But it is the same concept. It needs a bit of updating.

Ms Yellen has a particular definition of maximum employment […]

San Francisco is launching an experiment to give families free money

San Francisco is launching an experiment to give families free money

A basic income experiment is coming to San Francisco, California.

Announced at a January 23 forum hosted by the city’s Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE), a subsection of the Office of the Treasurer, the experiment will reportedly be a pilot program focused on families and children, Hoodline first reported .

Basic income is a wealth-distribution system that involves giving every citizen a fixed amount of money each month to cover basic living expenses. Advocate argue that by strengthening the social safety net, fewer people will be able to slip into poverty, ultimately creating healthier and happier societies.Some early evidence in the […]

Basic income project to be launched by San Francisco, with $5 million to start

Basic income project to be launched by San Francisco, with $5 million to start

San Francisco is launching a $5 million program to give some residents a basic income, the city’s Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) said this week, as it attempts to address income inequality and find a more effective program than welfare.

"[It will] use the power of City Hall to increase economic security and address intergenerational poverty,” OFED Director Sean Kline told a forum held at by the Universal Income Project , saying that S.F.’s program will focus primarily on how to help children.

“A focus on kids skirts a lot of the questions people usually have about basic income,” Klein said, […]

Minimum basic income is fine. But these basic questions need answers first

Minimum basic income is fine. But these basic questions need answers first

Follow @catchnews Politicians need votes to get elected and, once in power, select policies based on political expedience and ideology. Thus policy making, vote getting and ideological considerations are inextricably intertwined. Nonetheless, it is essential to try to assess major policy options on the basis of logic and, if possible, data.

The idea of a ‘basic income scheme’ has surfaced in pronouncements by senior policy makers recently and, surprisingly enough, dissenting voices within the establishment have also been publicly heard.

A scheme of this nature, if adopted, would be a major step in the economic life of modern India. The fundamentals […]

Increased automation guarantees a bleak outlook for Trump’s promises to coal miners

Increased automation guarantees a bleak outlook for Trump’s promises to coal miners

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President Trump has made promises to make the coal industry great again, vowing to reverse decades of the industry’s downward employment trajectory. Here, we introduce another reason why coal will face an uphill battle: automation.

President Trump has made empty promises to make the coal industry great again, vowing to reverse decades of the industry’s downward employment trajectory. In previous blog posts (see here and here ), we have shown how his promises to put coal miners back to work will be a tall order. Here, we introduce another reason why coal will face an […]

Trump’s TPP pullout could hurt workers more than it helps

Trump's TPP pullout could hurt workers more than it helps

When he signed the executive order formally scrapping a trade deal with 11 Pacific Rim countries, President Donald Trump proclaimed the move a "great thing for the American worker."

But a chorus of trade experts and economists this week have argued that the pulling out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership will have exactly the opposite impact.

"Virtually all economic analyses of the proposed TPP … provided empirical arguments that the TPP would raise U.S. workers’ income, both for highly educated and less educated workers," according to Jeffrey Bergstrand, finance professor at the University of Notre Dame and a former Federal Reserve […]

The Case For Universal Basic Income

The Case For Universal Basic Income

When the government provides a basic income to all citizens of the country without any conditions attached, it is termed as universal basic income. It is a form of social security. There is increasing debate in the developed countries about the introduction of Universal Basic Income.

The combination of four factors, globalization, outsourcing, automaton, and the increasing adaptation and use of artificial intelligence is taking a growing toll on the low-income and middle-class sections of the society in developed countries, which is prompting the debate for the introduction of universal basic income.

In Canada, manufacturing employment has decreased. According to Statistics […]

Why Universal Basic Income Might Become A Reality Under Trump

Why Universal Basic Income Might Become A Reality Under Trump

Donald Trump is now President Donald Trump. And no matter how many Americans still refuse to accept it as a fact, they would simply have to find a way to embrace it because whether they like it or not, over the next four years the Trump administration will be running the country. It should be noted here that there were plenty of Americans unhappy that Obama was elected our President, but after the election it didn’t matter. That’s how democracy works.

Turning back to Trump, since his inauguration, the President, whose businessman’s perspective and skills will certainly be assets in […]