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Automation Is Not a Justification For Universal Basic Income

Automation Is Not a Justification For Universal Basic Income

Hand-wringing opinion pieces on the rise of automation and its impact on minimum-wage jobs have become vogue online. News articles about automated check-out lines, touch-screen fast-food menus, and computer-controlled cars are inevitably followed by editorials predicting an impending collapse of society as workers are replaced by circuits boards and algorithms whose only cost is a monthly electrical bill, and who never sleep or need a vacation.

These authors immediately and without fail give their game away by insisting that this is a problem that can only be solved by imposing a Universal Basic Income, mandating that the government […]

Will Finland’s basic income trial help the jobless?

Will Finland's basic income trial help the jobless?

Liisa Ronkainen likes the idea that she will continue to receive the basic income even if she finds a job "I was so surprised when I got the letter, and a bit sceptical too," says Liisa Ronkainen, one of 2,000 Finns chosen for a government experiment to provide unemployed people with a basic income.

Out of work for half a year, Liisa, 26 and from Helsinki, has been looking for a job without success.

"While I’m unemployed I will only get €36 more per month with the basic income. I’ve always been positive about the idea, though, so it was nice […]

Half of paid work can be automated: McKinsey report

Half of paid work can be automated: McKinsey report

About half of the work that people are paid to do in the global economy can be automated by adapting existing technologies, according to McKinsey Global Institute.

It also said people will need to continue working alongside machines to produce the economic growth rates which countries around the world aspire to reach.

The findings come from a report by McKinsey’s business and economics research arm that analysed more than 2,000 work activities across 800 occupations.It noted that 49 per cent of the activities that people are paid to do have the potential to be automated by adapting technologies that have already […]

Why we should all have a basic income

Why we should all have a basic income

Consider for a moment that from this day forward, on the first day of every month, around $1,000 is deposited into your bank account – because you are a citizen . This income is independent of every other source of income and guarantees you a monthly starting salary above the poverty line for the rest of your life.

What do you do? Possibly of more importance, what don’t you do? How does this firm foundation of economic security and positive freedom affect your present and future decisions, from the work you choose to the relationships you maintain, to the risks […]

The BRM Basic Income Plan

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"Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you’re generally better off sticking with what you know. And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make."
–Donald J. Trump And, of course "valuable for society" doesn’t seem to be much clearer than "valuable utility".

The premise of the OP is that there are lots of people in the US who are willing to work, who would have worked in the 20th century, who can’t […]

Finland gives ‘basic income for all’ in radical benefits overhaul

Finland gives 'basic income for all' in radical benefits overhaul

The Finnish government has begun a pilot of a radical new policy aimed at overhauling the benefits system in the northern European country. Under the proposed system, the government will pay a basic income to citizens seeking employment.

The pilot scheme of 2,000 people, randomly selected to participate, awards €560 (£490) to each participant by the state for a two-year period.

No tax is paid on that amount, nor are there any conditions, such as in the UK where claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance, which amounts to around £317 per month, are required to sign a Claimant Commitment detailing how they will […]

Odisha: Inspirational ideas enthrall the audience at TEDxXIMB 2016

Odisha: Inspirational ideas enthrall the audience at TEDxXIMB 2016

Bhubaneswar: TEDxXIMB 2017 was organized at Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier University Bhubaneswar on January 15, 2017. TED is a non-profit organization devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks by the leading thinkers and doers of the day.

Independently run TEDx events help share powerful ideas and thoughts in communities around the world. This fourth edition of TEDxXIMB had speakers from diverse walks of life such as Mr. Anwesh Kumar Sahoo, Mr. Gay World India 2016 and prominent LGBT rights activist, Mr. Anand Ranganathan, researcher at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Delhi […]

Six things to expect at work in 2017

Six things to expect at work in 2017

Like so many things for the year ahead, many changes coming to the workplace are surrounded by questions. If Congress repeals or replaces the Affordable Care Act, what will that mean for employee health insurance? Will companies still have to publish the potentially embarrassing CEO-to-worker pay ratio, or will that part of the Dodd-Frank act be repealed, too? Will my employer or state join the bandwagon of those who have recently expanded paid parental leave?

And of course: When will the robots come for my job?

The answers to many of these questions are unknown. Congressional Republicans have already begun trying […]

US: Writer awarded $24,000 grant to write about Basic Income in 2017

US: Writer awarded $24,000 grant to write about Basic Income in 2017

Kate McFarland, a News Editor for BIEN, has been awarded a $24,000 grant by the Economic Security Project to focus on this work throughout 2017.

Of the grant, McFarland has the following to say: “As a reporter on the basic income movement, my primary task is to present accurate information in a clear and objective manner. With the movement gaining incredible momentum in world plagued by clickbait headlines and sensationalized reporting, this task is more important than ever. It’s a challenging and demanding job, and increasing my knowledge, building new connections, and perfecting my skills as a reporter has been […]

Instead of immigrants, automation may take away more jobs

Instead of immigrants, automation may take away more jobs

Automation has transformed the productivity of manufacturing since industrial robots first started painting, cutting, welding and assembling in the 1960s. PARIS: Donald Trump has been crowing as companies including Ford renounce plans to move factories to Mexico. But the main beneficiaries of this shift back to the US aren’t saying much by way of celebration — industrial robots don’t tend to speak.

While globalisation’s detractors blame countries such as China and Mexico for stealing the factory jobs of the West, experts point to less obvious culprits which are harder to scapegoat and to overcome in an interconnected economy with complex […]