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Finland to give cash to its unemployed as part of national experiment

Finland to give cash to its unemployed as part of national experiment

Finland Basic Income Come January, the country of Finland will embark an experiment to see what happens when you give a universal basic income to unemployed citizens. It will hand out a cash sum of 560 euros ($585) to a random selection of 2,000 unemployed citizens in place of current social security benefits. The program will last for two years even if participants find work during that time.

It’s a grand social experiment to see how the labor market behaves when you secure and guarantee income. Some argue that it would help put a dent in unemployment because people unwilling […]

Daniel Häni: Basic income is an initiative against laziness

In a recent interview, Swiss entrepreneur and activist Daniel Häni contends that “the unconditional basic income is an initiative against laziness.”

Häni is well known in the basic income as the co-founder the co-founder of Switzerland’s popular initiative for an unconditional basic income (UBI), which launched the campaign for a referendum to establish a national basic income.

In the interview, he talks about new conceptualizations of work in modern society, the value of time, and implied social changes from a UBI. Häni argues that man is not by nature lazy. He notes that, in contrast, much opposition to UBI comes from […]

US: National city advocacy group recommends “exploring” basic income

US: National city advocacy group recommends “exploring” basic income

The National League of Cities (NLC) — an advocacy organization representing 19,000 cities and towns in the United States — has published a report called The Future of Work in Cities , which briefly recommends that cities investigate universal basic income.

The Future of Work in Cities examines the changing nature of work, especially due to automation and the growth of the “gig” or “1099” economy, and the lays out several policy recommendations for cities to address these changes. One recommendation is that cities “explore basic income and other more broad-based social support systems.”

The NLC report describes basic income […]

Basic income is a radical idea bound for the political mainstream – here’s why

Basic income is a radical idea bound for the political mainstream – here’s why

Mission: poverty eradication. An idea gaining traction in various part of the world is that everyone in society should receive an amount of money from the state to cover their basic cost of living. People would no longer be stigmatised on benefits, argue supporters.

Dependent women would become financially independent. People would be freed to care for the elderly, crime would fall and the general health of the population would improve. Particularly in an era of fears about future mass unemployment caused by automation, there is a growing feeling that this citizens’ basic income is an idea that’s time has […]

CAROLE TRAINOR: A policy worth exploring

It was with great interest and enthusiasm I followed news of the Basic Income Guarantee motion that was unanimously approved by all parties in the P.E.I. legislature on Tuesday, Dec. 6. A policy worth exploring.

Through his piece in The Huffington Post, Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker spoke not only to what he referred to as the more obvious and immediate affects of alleviating poverty (better health and mental health outcomes, food security lower crimes rates, educational achievement etc.) he also spoke to what he referred to as the more subtle outcomes of a basic income program that could allow […]

Automation And The Future Of Work

Automation And The Future Of Work

Shutterstock There is a strange dichotomy at the moment surrounding the future of work. In public, political movements throughout the western world have seen populist campaigners railing against the threat to jobs from low-wage migrants entering a country, and outsourcing to low-cost regions by multinationals.

What hasn’t really been touched on is the impact automation might have on jobs in the future. What began with the famous study from Oxford University academics Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne back in 2013, which highlighted the huge number of white and blue collar jobs that could be disrupted by automation, has progressed […]

Universal basic income is the operating system of a post-industrial state

Universal basic income is the operating system of a post-industrial state

Universal basic income is the operating system of a post-industrial state There are very few policy ideas that attract support from all sides of the political spectrum these days. Universal basic income is one of them.

The idea of replacing existing welfare systems by giving everyone unconditional cash payments—regardless of income, work status, or anything else—is appealing to conservatives who want to shrink government bureaucracy, liberals who want to support low-wage workers, and technologists who think that robots will soon take all our jobs. In short, for a wide range of problems, basic income is presented as the solution.

Progress implementing […]

White House report is optimistic on the economic impact of AI & automation

White House report is optimistic on the economic impact of AI & automation

Artificial Intelligence and automation have the potential to boost living standards and lead to an increase in people’s leisure hours, but could also lead to increased economic inequality, the White House said in a new report.

The report, titled Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy , is a follow up to an October report, Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence , which looked at the government’s role in developing and implementing AI. It’s part of the government’s efforts to address what will likely be a massive impact on jobs and employment once AI and automation really takes off.

The report […]

Donald Trump’s Clumsy War on Globalisation is Bound to Fail

During his 2016 election campaign, Donald J Trump spoke consistently of bringing back the United States’ (US) manufacturing jobs. His rhetoric on "declaring America’s economic independence" earned him significant wins in America’s rust belt states of Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Now, being the President-elect, the underlying phenomenon that he plans to take on is Globalisation and the fast approaching "Fourth Industrial Revolution" and he may find his planned policies being unable to combat either.

If the Carrier deal where Trump claims to have saved 800 jobs is an example of how he plans on keeping manufacturing companies in the US, then […]

Putting food on the table

Kanata Kourier-Standard

On a recent trip out of town, I found myself eating at restaurants three times a day. For five days, I found myself eating takeout in the car, sitting in the hospital drinking coffee, and eating very salty restaurant food when I could grab a proper meal.

By the third day, the thought of another restaurant meal made my tongue raw. In fact, my entire mouth was raw. And my head hurt, and my glands were swollen. And my back ached. A quick Google search on the subject told me I likely had an autoimmune disease with limited time […]