The economist behind Universal Basic Income: Give all citizens free money to help combat a ‘neofascist wave of populism’

The economist behind Universal Basic Income: Give all citizens free money to help combat a ‘neofascist wave of populism’

In 2011 Guy Standing, then an economist at the University of Bath, prefaced his new book with a warning.

He described a growing class of “precariat” workers, alienated by a western political agenda which had, since the 1970s, promoted market-led competition above job security. Real wages across the west had stalled for decades and “flexible” work was becoming the norm, leaving many millions around the world in “without an anchor of stability.”

This precariat, he said, “are prone to listen to ugly voices, and to use their votes and money to give those voices a political platform of increasing influence.” Such […]

Finland Takes Plunge Into Guaranteed Income Socialist Insanity

Like Arnold Toynbee said about civilizations dying not by murder but by suicide : Finland has become the first country in Europe to pay its unemployed citizens a basic monthly income, amounting to 560 euros ($587), in a unique social experiment which is hoped to cut government red tape, reduce poverty and boost employment. Cut red tape by expanding the welfare state. Reduce poverty by paying people to be poor. Boost employment by paying people not to work or even look for work. Some concepts are so stupid that stupidity alone cannot explain them.

At least they are starting off […]

India basic income plans: Can India give every one of its citizens an income without destroying its economy?

India basic income plans: Can India give every one of its citizens an income without destroying its economy?

Basic income India, universal basic income In December 2016, US-based Economic Security Project (ESP), co-chaired by future of work expert Natalie Foster, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and Roosevelt Institute Fellow Dorian Warren, pledged $10 million in initial project fund to explore how a ‘basic income’ could rebalance the economy and ensure economic opportunity for all .

Silicon Valley, automation and universal basic income; what to do to stay one step ahead of the robots?

The move is just one in a series of such clamours around the world getting momentum over the concept of a universal basic income (UBI) […]

News roundup: Can Indian economy survive basic pay to citizens, India bans import of skins of reptiles, mink, fox and chinchillas, and more

News roundup: Can Indian economy survive basic pay to citizens, India bans import of skins of reptiles, mink, fox and chinchillas, and more

Kiosked A male leopard which was tranquilized by forest officials, is carried in a cage from a residential house after it strayed from the wild, in the northeastern Indian city of Guwahati January 7, 2015. Here are stories from International Business Times, India that have broken through the day:

1. India basic income plans: Can India give every one of its citizens an income without destroying its economy?

In December 2016, US-based Economic Security Project (ESP), co-chaired by future of work expert Natalie Foster, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and Roosevelt Institute Fellow Dorian Warren, pledged $10 million in […]

Poor Darwin – Robots, Not Nature, Now Make the Selection

Poor Darwin – Robots, Not Nature, Now Make the Selection

Editors’ Choice , Featured , Global , Globalisation , Headlines , Human Rights , IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse , Labour , Trade & Investment TOPIO ("TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot") is a bipedal humanoid robot designed to play table tennis against a human being. TOPIO version 3.0 at Tokyo International Robot Exhibition, Nov 2009. Photo: Humanrobo. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. ROME, Jan 5 2017 (IPS) – When British naturalist Charles Darwin published in 1859 his theory of evolution in his work On the Origin of Species, he most likely did not expect that robots, not […]

India Set to Approve Universal Basic Income

India Set to Approve Universal Basic Income

The Indian government is likely to introduce Universal Basic Income, a practice of paying every person a fixed sum of money as a means to stimulate the economy and improve the quality of life of its citizens, according to the concept’s leading proponent.

The Indian government is preparing a report documenting that a Universal Basic Income (UBI) is “feasible” and “basically the way forward,” according to professor Guy Standing, a leading advocate for UBI, and the leader of the Basic Income Earth Network movement (BIEN).

Universal Basic Income, originally proposed by Thomas More in his 1516 book Utopia, and later endorsed […]

This could be an important year for the universal basic income model

This could be an important year for the universal basic income model

Robots at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US Warren Stamping Plant What if people were paid just for being alive?

It may sound like some radical utopian ideal, but that’s the essential proposal at the heart of a growing movement now drawing mainstream support from a diverse array of economists, policy wonks and Silicon Valley thinkers: Universal basic income.

The idea is appealingly simple: In such a system, a government would guarantee each of its citizens a yearly stipend of enough money to cover a basic standard of living, no strings attached.The concept, in its most elemental form, has been bouncing around […]

The economist behind Universal Basic Income: Give all citizens free money to help combat a ‘neofascist wave of populism’

The economist behind Universal Basic Income: Give all citizens free money to help combat a ‘neofascist wave of populism’

In 2011 Guy Standing, then an economist at the University of Bath, prefaced his new book with a warning.

He described a growing class of “precariat” workers, alienated by a western political agenda which had, since the 1970s, promoted market-led competition above job security. Real wages across the west had stalled for decades and “flexible” work was becoming the norm, leaving many millions around the world in “without an anchor of stability.”

This precariat, he said, “are prone to listen to ugly voices, and to use their votes and money to give those voices a political platform of increasing influence.” Such […]

Finland Begins Paying Cash to Unemployed; India and Scotland Considering the Scheme?

Finland Begins Paying Cash to Unemployed; India and Scotland Considering the Scheme?

On January 1, 2017, Finland became the first sovereign nation to implement a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for its citizens. Under this scheme , the government randomly selects 2,000 citizens from those currently receiving unemployment benefits or an income subsidy. For the next two years, the selected Finns will receive EUR 560 ($587) a month regardless of whether they work or not. If the experiment proves to be successful, a UBI will be granted to all Finnish citizens. A large poster in a square in Geneva, Switzerland, promoting the idea of a universal basic income. Universal Basic Income, first […]

Robots, Universal Basic Income, and the Welfare State

Robots, Universal Basic Income, and the Welfare State

Evidence thus far questions the assumption that robotics are eliminating jobs. INET Senior Vice President for Programs Rick McGahey says the UBI debate should focus on the long-term weakening of labor’s bargaining power

Welfare states in developed economies are being hit from all directions. Some argue they are too expensive; others see them as inadequate to new economic challenges. Their failure to address the needs of working class voters are blamed for the rise of what Mark Blyth calls the “neonationalism ” seen in the Brexit vote, the Trump presidential victory, and the strength of nationalist candidates in France, Italy, […]