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Even after three decades of sustained economic growth and a proliferation of welfare schemes, roughly one in three Indians still live below the poverty line, according to the last report on poverty estimates submitted by the Rangarajan committee in 2014.

While those estimates have been questioned, the fact remains that there is little dispute over the fact that too many Indians remain trapped in poverty. The persistence of poverty and significant leakages in welfare schemes that aim to alleviate it has prompted many academics and policymakers to explore more efficient alternatives to India’s creaky and leaky welfare architecture. One […]

Full Post at swapsushias.blogspot.com

FRANCE’S BERNIE SANDERS GIVES BRUSSELS A SLEEPLESS NIGHT

The French presidential elections keep throwing up problems for Brussels, which is keeping an uneasy eye on developments in Paris.

If it isn’t the nightmare scenario of a National Front victory and the possibility of Frexit, it’s François Fillon telling Angela Merkel that sanctions on Russia are totally pointless.But it isn’t just right wing politicians keeping Brussels awake at night.Emmanuel Macron brings his own headaches and now there is the rise of Benoit Hamon, France’s answer to Bernie Sanders.Hamon will fight ex-Prime Minister Manuel Valls for the nomination after he triumphed in the […]

Full Post at www.euractiv.com

Peterborough This Week

A Peterborough organization wants the Province to hear its residents’ views on poverty reduction at an upcoming dinner and community discussion – especially those who are living on low incomes.
The Basic Income Peterborough Network’s co-founder, Susan Hubay, says her group will host a dinner and community discussion on Jan. 26 to “make sure those local voices are heard.”
With the Province currently holding community consultations across Ontario to gather input on the design and implementation of the pilot, Hubay wants to make sure Peterborough isn’t left out. Basic income is a monthly payment that ensures […]

Full Post at www.mykawartha.com

The guiding principle

"As long as Americans believe their country has vital interests everywhere on earth, they will be led by people who believe the same." This is from The Brothers by Stephen Kinzer.

Fundamental assumptions that guide American foreign policy today have not changed much since the Dulles brothers were in charge of the State Department and the CIA at the same time during the 1950s and ’60s. I believe exceptionalism, their guiding principle, has led to the deaths of millions and chaos in the world today.When will we as a nation learn to be a good citizen of the […]

Full Post at www.nwaonline.com

Locals, councillors, business and MPs to attend event on universal basic income implementation in Fife

THE CITIZEN’S BASIC INCOME NETWORK (CBIN) in Scotland will hold an event to investigate the feasibility of a citizen’s income for local politics in Fife.

It will be attended by SNP MP Ronnie Cowan, Paul Vaughn who is head of community and corporate development on Fife Council and Karl Widerquist who is an associate professor at Georgetown University in the US.The event will take place on Saturday 28th January at Kelty community centre will look at the prospects for setting up a pilot scheme […]

Full Post at www.commonspace.scot

The Conversation | about 4 hours ago This article first appeared on The Conversation .

Money for nothing is not just a song from 1985 by Dire Straits but also, it seems, a new wave of policies supporting the government providing an income for citizens, regardless of their economic activity.

Benoît Hamon, the surprise winner of the first round of the socialist primaries in France, is the latest high-profile supporter of the idea. But across the world, experiments in universal basic income are already exploring the option of paying individuals a flat rate of income, unaffected by their participation […]

Full Post at ewn.co.za

New Delhi – As the country’s economy recovers from the scars of demonetisation, the government has sought to float another trial balloon called universal basic income (UBI). The idea of a dole, to replace all other doles, on the face of it looks sound. But just like demonetisation, there is no equivalent large, sophisticated economy catering to a big population, which has tried it so far. And therein lies the need to tread with caution, and we are not even talking politically.

Should every Indian citizen, whether a wealthy industrialist or a street dweller, get a small amount each month […]

Full Post at www.timesdelhi.com