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British Medical Journal calls for a study of universal basic income

Recently, there have been increasing calls for dialogue on a universal basic income (UBI) from political parties, think tanks (including the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (RSA)), civic activists, trade unions, and leading entrepreneurs such as Tesla chief executive Elon Musk. These calls are a response to growing income insecurity, some sense that welfare systems may be failing, and as a preparation for the potential effects of automation and artificial intelligence on employment prospects in industries that might be better served by machines. 3 UBI-style pilots are planned in Finland, the Netherlands, and Canada […]

Beyond the Factory Floor: The Changing Work Force

Beyond the Factory Floor: The Changing Work Force

The other day, I looked into a mirror and suddenly realized that my mother was looking back.

It sneaks up on you.

Most of us don’t notice the day-to-day changes in ourselves, or our environments, unless something triggers that recognition. That is especially true of the inexorable increase in automation–and it matters, because it is automation, far more than trade, that has eliminated so many American jobs. And that automation isn’t limited to spiffy robots on a factory floor; it is all around us.When I first started to drive, gas station attendants pumped my gas and cleaned my windshield. These days, […]

Trump’s Carrier Deal is Even More of a Fraud Than We Thought

Trump’s Carrier Deal is Even More of a Fraud Than We Thought

Though Donald Trump will likely never stop bragging about the handful of jobs he negotiated to save at a Carrier manufacturing plant in Indiana, but though there are several major holes in his hero narrative, one major one has just been discovered that should put Trump’s bragging to an end for good.

According to CNBC , the carrier plant plans to use investments into the company in order to automate the factory, eventually resulting in the loss of many more jobs than any overseas move might have caused.

United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes admitted to CNBC ‘s Jim Cramer that the […]

$10 Million Project to Study Basic Income Programs Launched

$10 Million Project to Study Basic Income Programs Launched

The Economic Security Project , a coalition of more than a hundred tech entrepreneurs, investors, and activists, has announced a two-year, $10 million project to explore how a universal "basic income" (UBI) could provide economic opportunity for all.

ESP signatories who have committed to "think seriously about how recurring, unconditional cash stipends could work, how to pay for them, and what the political path might be to make them a reality" include Y Combinator president Sam Altman, Zipcar co-founder Robin Chase, Institute for the Future fellow and "work instigator" Natalie Foster, Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, Niskanen Center policy […]

Basic Income and Ontario’s Pilot Consultations: Ten Benefits of Basic Income

VibrantCanada.ca – blogs/alison-homer/basic-income-and-ontarios-pilot-consultations-ten-benefits-basic-income?
December 7, 2016. ALISON HOMER

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A Basic Income model is an innovative approach to providing income security. It guarantees all of its citizens a regular predictable income sufficient to live a basic but dignified life.The idea of a Basic Income has been around for a long time. The idea of a minimum income first appeared at the beginning of the 16th century < http://basicincome.org/basic-income/history/ >, and a pilot was conducted in Canada in 1974 < http://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/cpp.37.3.283 >. To gain a basic understanding of Basic Income, the Basic Income in Canada Network’s Frequently […]

America Faces Catastrophic Employment Numbers

America Faces Catastrophic Employment Numbers

We’re Hiring sign (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) Americans continue to drop out of the labor market as employment numbers reach catastrophic levels, warned a panel of experts Thursday.

The economy has lost a staggering percentage of its workforce over the decades. The number of people employed or looking for work as a percentage of the population sits at only 62.7 percent. Experts warned during the panel discussion that the numbers show a quiet catastrophe.

“I’m not trying to be hyperbolic in describing this as a quiet catastrophe or calamity,” American Enterprise Institute Economist Nicholas Eberstadt said. “From 1965 to the present […]

The despicable inequality and cruel egalitarianism of wealth: towards a draft wealth tax to fund a basic income

The despicable inequality and cruel egalitarianism of wealth: towards a draft wealth tax to fund a basic income

Part 3 of a series. To those who have, more shall be given. Cities get more investment. From those who have little, more shall be taken. Small towns are finding that they are excluded from the excitement happening everywhere else and little investment goes their way.

The idea of capitalism – that goods should bear market prices, that justly acquired property is yours, and exchange between willing participants be free of encumbrances – is everywhere under threat.

There is, however, little policy difference between the extreme-left and extreme-right populist response. Both demand a remarkably statist approach to government, and both are […]

The despicable inequality and cruel egalitarianism of wealth: towards a draft wealth tax to fund a basic income

The despicable inequality and cruel egalitarianism of wealth: towards a draft wealth tax to fund a basic income

Part 3 of a series. To those who have, more shall be given. Cities get more investment. From those who have little, more shall be taken. Small towns are finding that they are excluded from the excitement happening everywhere else and little investment goes their way.

The idea of capitalism – that goods should bear market prices, that justly acquired property is yours, and exchange between willing participants be free of encumbrances – is everywhere under threat.

There is, however, little policy difference between the extreme-left and extreme-right populist response. Both demand a remarkably statist approach to government, and both are […]

What can you do if robots threaten your job? Five ideas to future-proof your income and get ahead

What can you do if robots threaten your job? Five ideas to future-proof your income and get ahead

Sooner, rather than later, many jobs could be wiped out and we will all need to be paid a basic income from the state to survive, according to the growing noise from influential business leaders, global organisations and activists.

Elon Musk, the outspoken entrepreneur behind Tesla’s electric (and semi-autonomous) cars, is the latest high-profile futurist to proclaim that automated, artificial intelligence and robotics mean that the provision of a universal basic income by the state is the inevitable and ‘reasonable’ way forward.

In essence, this could mean a fixed, regular payment to all citizens, no matter whether or not they had […]

Why Am I Yelling At CNN’s Poppy Harlow?

Why Am I Yelling At CNN’s Poppy Harlow?

Honestly, I don’t usually talk back to the TV. But I couldn’t contain myself during Poppy Harlow’s December 10 interview with John Feltner, the United Steelworkers vice president of the Rexnord local union where 300 jobs are moving from Indianapolis to Mexico.

In discussing the move, Ms. Harlow twice resorted to the much repeated trope that the loss of American manufacturing jobs is really about automation and technology.

HARLOW: …. What would you ― what is the number-one thing you would like to see the incoming administration do that you think will help people in your situation? Because, you know, […]