by BIEN | Mar 9, 2017 | News
The issue of the basic income, its pros and cons and the feasibility of its implementation have occupied space in media outlets in recent years, mainly due to the visibility it gained after the referendum in Switzerland and the experiment started this year by the Finnish government. However, this discussion has not reached all corners of the planet. Or at least not until recently.
On February 1st of this year, the Argentine conservative-leaning newspaper La Nación published an opinion piece entitled “An universal income that compensates for poverty and unemployment”. The author of the article, Eduardo Levy Yeyati, is an economist, writer, and civil engineer, with a PhD in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. Yeyati introduces the concept of universal income and describes the historical dimensions of this idea, as its discussion has spanned the centuries, from Thomas More, to Martin Luther King, to its contemporary promoters such as the British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the French presidential candidate Benoît Hamon.
However, the text mainly discusses three fundamental complications surrounding the idea of basic income. First, despite having multiple detractors and defenders, the basic income is still an idea in search of a design. According to Yeyati, there is a rather classic proposal such as an unconditional basic income (the model advocated by the most ardent supporters of the initiative), a conservative proposal that would be represented by the negative income tax defended by Milton Friedman and a compromise third-way between these more extreme positions that seeks to guarantee a basic salary floor for those who already receive some type of income.
Second, the author identifies two moral dilemmas that must be addressed and answered by any definition and operationalization of the basic income. First, should it be paid only to those who have a registered job, in the style of an addendum and prize to effort, or should it be paid to everybody, even to those who have no intention of working? Second, should the person who has a lower income receive more money, should everybody receive the same amount or should the person who works the most receive more? For many advocates of this initiative, a basic income basically implies answering these dilemmas in the most “generous” way: it should be paid to everybody and everyone should receive the same. In this sense, it seems that Yeyati uses the term more broadly than a lot of speakers in other countries, not compromising to any of the possibilities.
Finally, the author ventures one last idea in which he discusses the feasibility of thinking and discussing the implementation of a basic income in Argentina today. And despite some pessimism on his behalf and considering that it would take several years of political maturation to reach the appropriate level of discussion, Yeyati does believe that it is possible to move towards the realization of a basic income today through the design and implementation of a Finnish-style pilot in Argentina. Basically, the author argues that this would not be very costly, that the twin challenges of poverty and unemployment will dominate the development agenda in the coming years and that, in order to move forward, this debate needs information that we do not currently have. In this sense, despite the fact that this issue it not yet in the agenda in the Latin American and Argentine context, at least there are people who are encouraged to discuss its implications and there are media outlets, however conservative they may be, willing to publish them.
Featured Image CC Mike Ramsey (via flickr, Scott Santens)
by Kate McFarland | Nov 3, 2016 | News
A new group of activists, Renta Básica Argentina, has formed to promote basic income in Argentina. One of the group’s main initiatives is a weekly, one-hour radio program devoted to the discussion of basic income.
The program is aired locally on AM1470 each Saturday from 12:00 to 13:00 ART, and podcasts of past episodes (in Spanish) are available at the following link: https://ar.ivoox.com/es/podcast-renta-basica-argentina_sq_f1296864_1.html.
Renta Básica Argentina is supported by BIEN’s Argentinian affiliate, Red Argentina de Ingreso Ciudadano (Redaic).
Countryside of Argentina CC BY 2.0 Douglas Scortegagna
by Kate McFarland | Oct 23, 2016 | News
BIEN’s Argentinian affiliate, RedAIC, has organized a conference “Towards a free and egalitarian society: The Basic Income Proposal” to take place in Buenos Aires on Thursday, October 27.
Participants include Julio Aguirre (Co-Secretary of BIEN), Daniel Raventós (President of BIEN’s Spanish affiliate, Red Renta Básica), Rubén Lo Vuolo (President of RedAIC), and members of the Argentinian government, among others.
For more information, see the Facebook event page, and follow RedAIC and Renta Básica Argentina.
Buenos Aires CC BY 2.0 Kevin Dooley
by Andre Coelho | May 22, 2016 | News
Santiago Bilinkis, at The Future of Employment IDEA Annual Conference
Although the event happened on the 22nd of October 2015, it is still relevant to take note of Santiago Bilinkis‘ presentation on technological innovation and its effect on the work market. According to Bilinkis, an economist specialized in technological issues and consequences for society, there is considerable denial in society today, which mounts barriers against the unstoppable evolution of technology. During this presentation, held at the 51th IDEA Annual Conference (titled “El future del empleo” (“The future of employment”)), Bilinkis spoke not only about basic income as a possible solution for massive technological unemployment, guaranteeing a minimum income level for all people regardless of their job situation, but also about John Maynard Keynes’ vision of almost 100 years ago; Kenyes predicted that, eventually, machines would perform most human tasks, society would be much more egalitarian and luxuries would be socially unacceptable. His vision is one of recognition of the present social situation and which presents a positive view on society’s capacity to improve its well-being, taking advantage of the exponential technological developments of today.
More information (in Spanish) at:
IDEA Argentina, “51º Coloquio Anual de IDEA – El futuro del empleo [51th IDEA Annual Conference – The future of employment]”, Instituto para el Desarollo Empresarial de la Argentina, October 22nd 2015
by Andre Coelho | Mar 24, 2016 | News
Basavilvaso and Tagliaferro. Credit to: La Politica Online.
The Administración Nacional de la Seguridad Social (National Social Security Administration) in Argentina, or ANSES, is working on the universalization of the citizen’s income, which is being considered for pensioners and children. ANSES Executive Director Emilio Basavilbaso has himself stated that (the universalization of) a basic income can allow the country “not only to maintain, but to reinforce social rights”. At the moment, as Emilio Basavilbaso also agrees, a law must be passed in order to start money transfers under this partial basic income for pensioners.
The present government, led by president Mauricio Macri, is also considering a universal child payment (Asignación Universal por Hijo (AUH)), which has been proposed by parliament members Elisa Carrió and Elisa Carca as far back as 1997. The Argentinian government seems to be pursuing the expansion of unconditional payments per population sectors, at the moment focused on elder and younger citizens, through the internal transformation and increased capacity of the existent social security system.
More information at:
Language: Spanish
“Basavilbaso confirm que las jubilaciones aumentarán cerca de 15 por ciento [Basavilbaso has confirmed that pensions have risen 15 percent]”, La Política Online Economia, January 19th 2016
Financial Red Argentina, “ANSES Ingreso Ciudadano para la vejez [ANSES elderly basic income]”, 2nd December 2015
Financial Red Argentina, “Calendario de pago Ingreso Ciudadano Universal Marzo 2016 [Basic Income transfer calendar March 2016]”, March 1st 2016
Financial Red Argentina, “ANSES Elderly basic income: to retire without contributions [ANSES jubilacion universal: jubilarse sin aportes]”, March 1st 2016
