Tag: guaranteed income

The Ontario government is trying out a basic income program later this year, and is asking the public for their ideas. The consultations come to Ottawa Tuesday. (CBC) When Smiths Falls councillors voted late last year againstlobbying the provincial government to be considered for the upcoming guaranteed income pilot project, the decision set off a maelstrom in the struggling eastern Ontario town.

On Tuesday the debate moves to Ottawa where officials from the Ministry of Community and Social Services will hold a public consultation session about the pilot project they hope to launch later this year.

If you’re not familiar with […]

Full Post at www.cbc.ca

HELSINKI, Finland — By global comparison, poverty in Finland can scarcely be characterized as having an extreme nature. That being said, the nation does have a population of 5.5 percent living below the poverty line , with an unemployment rate of 9.4 percent as of 2015. On January 1, Finland became the first nation in Europe to test Universal Basic Income. This is a system in which the government pays its unemployed citizens an unconditional monthly income meant to cover their basic costs of living.

With a current population of 5.5 million, poverty in Finland currently affects more than 300,000 […]

Full Post at www.borgenmagazine.com

A radical left-winger dubbed ‘France’s Jeremy Corbyn’ is on course to become the Socialist Party’s candidate in presidential elections this spring.

Benoit Hamon, a 49-year-old former education minister, has caused a stir with his policies including giving a guaranteed income of around £550 a month to every citizen.

Costed at an estimated £346 billions a year, the plan would be phased in over three years and funded through higher wealth taxes.But despite his hard-Left view of the world, Mr Hamon was by 9pm this evening leading in the first round of the Socialist Party primary by 35.2 per cent, compared to […]

Full Post at www.dailymail.co.uk

Last week’s post — on a poverty eradication experiment in Africa of giving no-strings-attached cash — was a bit of a Trojan horse for this week: UBI is the idea of granting all adults a small amount of income, for life.

UBI is having a moment right now. Finland launched an experiment in 2017 to address joblessness with basic income, and the Netherlands is also attempting small-scale trials . Swiss voters rejected it in a referendum in 2016, but Swiss UBI supporters rejoice that it at least came up for a vote. A Silicon Valley startup Y-Combinator plans to launch […]

Full Post at www.bankers-anonymous.com

Is a guaranteed income the answer an uncertain future? Finland’s Social Insurance Institution, KELA, explains in a video on its website that the current social security model was developed to suit the needs of a different era.

No job, no problem – at least, not if you’re one of 2,000 randomly-picked unemployed Finns. Over the next two years, the Finnish government will hand them the equivalent of 4,000 kroner per month with no strings attached. If they find a job, the money is still theirs.

The project is managed by Kela, Finland’s Social Insurance Institution, in order to discover whether a […]

Full Post at murmur.dk

Waterloo Region Record

Poverty makes us all pay. Evidence shows that the stress of being poor leads to unsatisfactory health, more domestic violence, more time in jail and higher use of social agencies such as homeless shelters.

We all, therefore, have a compelling interest in reducing poverty, whatever our politics. Left-wing thinkers hope that less financial pressure would lead to a more dignified life. Those whose political views lean right might welcome the savings to government-funded health and social services.Its potentially universal appeal is what is so encouraging about the pledge from the Ontario Liberal government to start three-year pilot programs […]

Full Post at www.therecord.com

THE CHRONICLE-JOURNAL/MATT VIS A crowd of about 50 people gathered to protest outside the Victoria Inn on Thursday evening before the start of a public consultation session hosted by the provincial government to gather feedback on a basic income pilot project.

The province hosted a consultation session in Thunder Bay on Thursday to gather public feedback about a proposal to start a pilot project that would provide the guaranteed income.

Steve Mantis, an organizer of a rally held outside the Victoria Inn before the meeting that drew about 50 demonstrators, said there are people in need who need help immediately.“People right […]

Full Post at www.chroniclejournal.com

This month, Finland became the first country to implement a basic income plan for some of their unemployed citizens. The program is aimed at motivating the unemployed to look for work. In addition, proponents of the program hope that it will help the economy adjust to changes in the labor market caused by automation .

If it works, Finland’s basic income plan could reshape and simplify the country’s social security system. It also has the potential to change the way citizens and governments around the globe think of unemployment and assistance. How the Plan Works

This month, Finland will […]

Full Post at www.payscale.com

In conversation with BJD MP Jay Panda.

Hello and welcome to this Facebook live on The Wire with Jay Panda, a four time member of parliament from the Biju Janta Dal – a centrist party that exercises great influence because of the number of MPs it sends to the parliament. We have Jay Panda with us today because he is one of the first lawmakers to have talked about, written about the issue of a universal basic minimum income for Indian citizens. An idea which is now being debate specially, in the post demonetisation phase because the government wants […]

Full Post at thewire.in

Well, now, folks, I’ve got a real doozy for you this week.

In fact, I can’t believe I get paid to do this job. That is, I can’t believe I have to do this job to get paid. They should just pay me anyway.

Think I’m just joshin’ with ya? Read on — seriously. As robots take jobs, Europeans mull free money for all PARIS (AP) — I am, therefore I’m paid.The radical notion that governments should hand out free money to everyone — rich and poor, those who work and those who don’t — is slowly but surely gaining ground […]

Full Post at jg-tc.com