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Unite support’s a Citizens Basic Income!

Unite support's a Citizens Basic Income!

President, Tameside TUC, (in a personal capacity). IN this country and abroad, we are seeing a growing interest in the idea of a guaranteed universal unconditional basic income scheme for all citizens. What seems to be driving such initiatives, is the realisation that the world of work is becoming more precarious with jobs under threat from technology and automation. The Bank of England now estimates that as many as 15 million jobs are under threat from technology and a third of jobs in the retail sector, are predicted to disappear by 2025, due to such things as online shopping.

Another […]

Will basic income lower crime?

Will basic income lower crime?

This week, I had the opportunity to be a guest on New York University’s Students for Criminal Justice Reform podcast . I spoke with Thurston Powers about the positive effects a basic income may have on American society.

One often overlooked potential benefit is the effect of basic income on crime rates. I noted that a basic income could create more stable households and increase the likelihood of parents spending time with their children. Unstable and low-income households are linked with creating long-term issues for children that grow up in these situations.

Those that critically point out single mothers work slightly […]

Cobotisation – the solution to Industry 4.0 in Singapore

Traditionally, robots sit in the factory within a finite space and with fixed rules, a safe distance away from its human operators. Today, the capabilities of robots have grown and humans and robots can almost work hand in hand. This may have resulted in the fear of robots for taking over jobs or the loss of the "human touch".

Against the backdrop of the tightening labour market and rising manpower costs, adopting robotic technology could potentially boost productivity, in addition to strengthening competitiveness and generating growth, whilst retaining staff employment. Studies have shown that robotics and automation have made a […]

Get ready for the march of the robo-workers.. soon they’ll be serving fast food and driving our cars

Get ready for the march of the robo-workers.. soon they’ll be serving fast food and driving our cars

MY dad told me a joke the other day.

Well, he meant it as a joke — in fact it was pretty chilling. 4 It’s a scary reality, but Robots could soon put millions out of work “Not long from now” he said, “factories will contain only two living creatures, a human and a dog.

The human’s job will be to feed the dog. The dog’s job will be to stop the human from touching anything”.I laughed, because it seems so completely ridiculous. But then I winced, because it probably isn’t all that far from the truth.Don’t just take it from […]

Carney 15m jobs to go in UK due to automation

The EU has a number of trading arrangements with other markets. I wouldn’t call them free trade agreements.

I said that developing nations would level up faster than us. That’s not the same thing.
My point stands and has not been countered. But the whole point is that the gap increases.
But as a percentage, employment has decreased since were scything in the fields – in those days, it was work or die (or steal) and the economic pyramid was a lot more compressed than today. These days we are caught between low […]

Automation Can Actually Create More Jobs

Automation Can Actually Create More Jobs

Click Here for more Amazon Charts. Since the 1970s, when automated teller machines arrived, the number of bank tellers in America has more than doubled. James Bessen, an economist who teaches at Boston University School of Law, points to that seeming paradox amid new concerns that automation is "stealing" human jobs. To the contrary, he says, jobs and automation often grow hand in hand.

Sometimes, of course, machines really do replace humans, as in agriculture and manufacturing, says Massachusetts Institute of Technology labor economist David Autor in a succinct and illuminating TED talk, which could have served as the headline […]

Sorry Pundits, Robots And Automation Are The Sole Reason To Support The Cruel Minimum Wage

Sorry Pundits, Robots And Automation Are The Sole Reason To Support The Cruel Minimum Wage

To avoid any misunderstanding, it’s important to say up front that the minimum wage is a cruel offense to common sense. Leaving statistics out of an argument that should solely be about the freedom of the individual to transact, the simple truth is that wage floors are harmful to those eager to gain useful work experience. The minimum wage should be zero .

When we lack experience in a certain field, or work experience altogether, we should be free to offer up our services for nothing in order to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to earn a wage. As […]

Gary Fowler, “Universal basic income: If a robot takes your job, it could actually be good for you”

Gary Fowler, “Universal basic income: If a robot takes your job, it could actually be good for you”

Entrepreneur Gary Fowler has written a guest column for the San Francisco tech zine VentureBeat in which he argues that universal basic income is a viable solution for technological unemployment and that, rather than making people lazy, it would permit the flourishing of human creativity.

After considering the capacity of AI technologies to reduce the need for human labor, and reflecting on the results of basic income trials and psychological studies of motivation, Fowler asserts that people will not become lazy and uncreative “if robots take our jobs and the government gives us a universal basic income.” He goes on […]

Two Canadian provinces look to provide poor with basic income

Two Canadian provinces look to provide poor with basic income

Two Canadian provinces are developing a plan to provide its poorest residents with a basic income from the government.

Ontario is looking to launch its program – the first of its kind considered in North America in decades – next spring to provide a guaranteed annual income for people and families in need.

Now Prince Edward Island’s legislature has unanimously approved developing a similar pilot project with the federal government.It was felt that such a plan would help families build their way back while reducing government bureaucracy.Ontario named former Senator Hugh Segal to study the options in a $25-million test project […]

UK: The Institute for Policy Research’s “Basic Income and the European Welfare State” (Dec 13)

UK: The Institute for Policy Research’s “Basic Income and the European Welfare State” (Dec 13)

Since May 2016, the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) at the University of Bath has been conducting an ongoing project investigating the design, effects, and implementation of different universal basic income proposals for the UK.

The project, Examining the Case for a Basic Income , includes a series of lectures, workshops, and other events. Its most recent event was a public lecture by Citizen’s Income Trust Director Malcolm Torry on the state of the basic income debate.

The next event associated with the project, which will take place on Tuesday, December 13, is an academic-oriented workshop led by IPR Research Associate […]