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A recent headline in Quartz , an otherwise serious media agency, claims that Jammu and Kashmir is the first state in India to "commit to a universal basic income" (UBI). A glance at the original source quickly negates this claim: it is based on nothing more than "seeds of a thought" (sic) from the Finance Minister of J&K about possible cash transfers for a small minority of poor households. This is not a commitment, and it is not UBI anyway.

<div id=’ndtvrelcontent’></div>There have been other cases of active promotion of UBI in the business media in recent weeks. For example, […]

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A group of basic income supporters in Germany is about to launch a nationwide “tour”, featuring a series of events and speakers on the topic. BGE Tournee 2017 will commence in Bonn on January 21, with a series of lectures and discussion periods. (BGE is an abbreviation for “bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen”, the German term for unconditional basic income.)

Invited speakers comprise members of three different German political parties — the Greens (Grüne), Pirates (Piraten), and “the Left” (die LINKE) — as well as representatives from several advocacy groups promoting an unconditional basic income:

– Dagmar Partenoga of the advocacy group Attac .– […]

Full Post at basicincome.org

The European Parliament will vote on a report calling on the European Commission and all EU member states to “seriously consider” basic income in order to address the economic consequences of automation and artificial intelligence.

On Thursday 12 January, European Parliament’s committee on Legal affairs (JURI) adopted a report on “ Civil law rules on robotics ” which considers the legal and economic consequences of the rise of robots and artificial intelligence devices.

According to the report, since “robots, bots, androids and other manifestations of artificial intelligence (“AI”) seem poised to unleash a new industrial revolution, which is likely to […]

Full Post at basicincome.org

Picture: Supplied 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 […]

Full Post at ewn.co.za

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 Image caption

"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 […]

Full Post at mezo.me

There was a range of political approaches at Saturday’s Scottish Independence Convention, but one thing united everyone in enthusiasm – besides the important desire for a more progressive independent Scotland. Whenever UBI was mentioned, and that happened quite often, it received wholehearted applause; especially so when Dr Philippa Whitford, SNP MP for Central Ayrshire, supported the call by pointing out that the very active involvement of pensioners in our communities demonstrated the fallacy of the idea that giving people money makes them lazy. (In fact it frees them to do all those things that don’t bring financial reward or […]

Full Post at scottishunemployedworkers.net

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 ($781) 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 U.K. where claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance, which amounts to around $500 per month, are required to sign a Claimant Commitment detailing how they will […]

Full Post at www.msn.com

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 […]

Full Post at crumbsworth.wordpress.com

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 […]

Full Post at www.bbc.com