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France’s Valls, Hamon Clash Over Basic Income in Primary Debate

France’s Valls, Hamon Clash Over Basic Income in Primary Debate

Benoit Hamon and Manuel Valls prior to a televised debate on Jan. 25. The two remaining candidates in the French Socialist Party’s primary expressed dramatically different views of the country’s economic future as they clashed in their only debate ahead of Sunday’s vote.

Benoit Hamon defended his proposals for a shorter work week and a basic income of 750 euros ($800) a month for all citizens, saying technical change threatens to make work rare. Manuel Valls said lower payroll taxes and job training in new technologies would enable the country to keep creating jobs and cut France’s 10 percent unemployment […]

ONTARIO, CANADA: Smiths Falls council reverses decision, votes to lobby for basic income pilot

ONTARIO, CANADA: Smiths Falls council reverses decision, votes to lobby for basic income pilot

In a reversal of a decision last December, the council of the Eastern Ontario town Smiths Falls has voted to send a delegate to an upcoming convention of municipalities to lobby for the town’s selection in Ontario’s basic income pilot study.

Background: Ontario’s Pilot Plans

The Canadian province of Ontario is currently in the consultation phase of the design of a pilot study of a basic income guarantee. According to the recommendations of the project adviser Hugh Segal, the pilot should test a guaranteed minimum income of approximately $1320 per month, plus an additional $500 for those with […]

The case against universal basic income

The need for providing a basic income to all citizens is being discussed actively in various parts of the world. One of the reasons why the idea is gaining more attention in the developed world these days is the increasing use of robots in the industrial sector. As automation increases, the fear is that more people will find it difficult to get jobs. Moreover, the thought is to give all citizens a basic income that will allow them to live with dignity, irrespective of their earning capability. However, opinion remains divided and voters in a rich country like Switzerland […]

A behavioural economist explains how basic income can work in the US

There’s a debate swirling in certain economic circles over a thought experiment: If you give free money to people in poor Kenyan villages and they use it improve their lives, can you expect the same outcome in a random sampling of people in the United States?

After all, impoverished villages differ wildly from a grab bag of Americans, and what might work in poorer villages might not apply elsewhere.

Dan Ariely, a behavioural economist at Duke University and author of several books on decision-making, doesn’t buy it.“If you think about the fundamental aspect that you’re testing, people are people,” Ariely tells […]

A behavioral economist explains how basic income can work in the US

A behavioral economist explains how basic income can work in the US

Stacks of cash and the World Series of Poker championship bracelet are placed on a table during the WSOP main event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas November 8, 2011.

There’s a debate swirling in certain economic circles over a thought experiment: If you give free money to people in poor Kenyan villages and they use it improve their lives, can you expect the same outcome in a random sampling of people in the United States?

After all, impoverished villages differ wildly from a grab bag of Americans, and what might work in poorer villages might not […]

Budget 2017: Is India ready for Universal Basic Income?

Universal basic income (UBI) differs from the social security schemes in western nations. It has three distinguishing characteristics. First, it is universal and not targeted. It is for each and every citizen, regardless of their current income status. Second, it involves a cash transfer instead of an in-kind transfer. This means that a fixed amount of funds is credited to the citizens’ account on a particular day every month. Third, it is unconditional. It is like a monthly salary for which you did not work. This is available to the employed and the unemployed. The scheme covers people from […]

Work in an Automated Future

Work in an Automated Future

LONDON – Disruptive technologies are now dictating our future, as new innovations increasingly blur the lines between physical, digital, and biological realms. Robots are already in our operating rooms and fast-food restaurants; we can now use 3D imaging and stem-cell extraction to grow human bones from a patient’s own cells; and 3D printing is creating a circular economy in which we can use and then reuse raw materials.

This tsunami of technological innovation will continue to change profoundly how we live and work, and how our societies operate. In what is now called the Fourth Industrial Revolution , technologies that […]

Universal Basic Income: Does the Carrot Work Better than the Stick?

Universal Basic Income: Does the Carrot Work Better than the Stick?

Automation and robots will destroy jobs but create work. How will we secure employment in the future?

Since 1970s, social policies on both sides of the Atlantic have been dominated by workfare policies where the payment of benefits is made conditional on participation in job promoting activities such as training, rehabilitation and work experience, or on unpaid or low-paid work. Those who fail to fulfill these conditions lose their benefits.

The sticks have not worked very well. Traditional activation policies have proven inadequate in employing long-term unemployed people, and in preventing them from social exclusion. A New Experiment in Finland […]

Ottawans give feedback on Ontario’s guaranteed income pilot project

Ottawans give feedback on Ontario's guaranteed income pilot project

Ontario’s minister of community and social services, Helena Jaczek, has been attending consultations across the province about testing a guaranteed income to alleviate poverty. (Kate Porter/CBC) More than 100 Ottawa residents gave their feedback Tuesday night about Ontario’s plans to try a different approach to alleviating poverty with guaranteed incomes.

"We have an opportunity to right a system that is, in my opinion, quite broken," said Carissa Davis, a single mother who attended the consultation session on Coventry Road. Carissa Davis finds the current social assistance system too focused on policing people’s finances. She believes a guaranteed income would empower […]

Star French economist backs campaign call for universal income

Star French economist backs campaign call for universal income

French economist Thomas Piketty praised the idea of a universal basic income, saying it would be a "key building block" of a fairer economy (AFP Photo/ERIC PIERMONT) Paris (AFP) – A proposal by leftwing French presidential candidate Benoit Hamon for a universal basic income received the seal of approval from star French economist Thomas Piketty on Wednesday.

In an op-ed in the daily Le Monde, Piketty and nine colleagues praised the idea, saying it would be a "key building block" of a fairer economy.

The pledge to pay everyone a living wage has been a hot potato in France’s Socialist primary, […]