by Kate McFarland | Aug 22, 2016 | News
A recent episode of the Asia & The Pacific Policy Society’s Policy Forum podcast examined the benefits and costs of basic income.
In the episode, editor Martyn Pearce interviews a series of four experts on the topic: Guy Standing, economist at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and co-founder of Basic Income Earth Network; Charles Murray, W. H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute; Peter Whiteford, Director of the Social Policy Institute at the Australian National University; and Olli Kangas, researcher at KELA, the group planning Finland’s basic income experiment.
Guy Standing speaks about a multitude of issues, including the immediate need of a basic income to prevent the rise of “neo-fascist populists” and the justification of basic income as a type of public inheritance, which is owed to everyone due to the collective contributions of our forebears. Standing also describes possible models to introduce a basic income, such as beginning with a small social dividend alongside current welfare programs. Near the end of the interview, he provides an extended argument against the charge that a basic income “will make people lazy”.
Next, Charles Murray delivers quite different views on why a basic income is necessary and what a model of basic income should look like. Murray stresses that, on his proposal, a basic income “would replace the entire welfare state; it would not be an add-on” — and that the amount would be low enough that no individual could live alone in “splendid isolation”, encouraging employment and cooperation (combining resources).
Peter Whiteford, the third interviewee, briefly overviews the popularity of the idea of basic income in Australia, before turning to address two major arguments against basic income: that it is too expensive and that it would discourage (paid) work.
Finally, Olli Kangas discusses many details related to Finland’s upcoming basic income experiment — including Finland’s decision to test only a partial basic income, the structure of the experiment, and what is being tested (spoiler: primarily the effects on employment).
Listen to the full episode here:
Martyn Pearce and Peter Whiteford, “A basic income, or the end of welfare?” Asia & The Pacific Policy Society, Policy Forum; July 15, 2016.
Photo CC Slilin
by Kate McFarland | Aug 21, 2016 | News
In the past year, two Basic Income Create-a-thons took place under the auspices of the Universal Income Project: the first in San Francisco (Nov 13-15, 2015) and the second in Los Angeles (Apr 15-17, 2016).
A third Basic Income Create-a-thon has now been scheduled for September 9-11 in New Orleans. Basic income advocate Scott Santens is hosting the event, and BIEN co-chair Karl Widerquist will also be participating.
A “create-a-thon”, according to the event description, is a “weekend-long creative event, where writers, artists, videographers, developers, musicians, and others collaborate to create content and media in support of a universal basic income in the United States”.
At the start of the event, participants will have the opportunity to present their original ideas for projects to raise awareness and generate support for basic income. Participants will then select their favorite proposals to develop over the course of the weekend, working in teams. At the end of the weekend, teams will each present their conclusions and accomplishments to all attendees.
Attendance at the New Orleans create-a-thon is free, though a donation is suggested to cover event costs. Participants should register for the event on EventBrite.
Additional details are available on the Facebook event page.
Image CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Greg L Jones
An earlier version of this article’s headline was autocorrected to ‘Third Basic Income Create-a-Thong’; to the author’s knowledge, however, no basic income create-a-thong has yet taken place.
This basic income news made possible in part by Kate’s patrons on Patreon.
by Tyler Prochazka | Aug 19, 2016 | News
One of the biggest objections to the universal basic income, especially from libertarians and conservatives, is that it is far too costly to implement. Among OECD countries, however, this is largely untrue.
The Economist recently unveiled a Basic Income Calculator that can illustrate how much each person could receive under a UBI by scrapping existing non-health related welfare. The United States would be able to achieve a $6,300 basic income.
To reach a $10,000 basic income, the U.S. government would need to use an additional seven percent of GDP. This would still keep the United States at welfare spending below many other OECD countries as a percentage of GDP.
Seven countries already spend more than $10,000 per person on non-health welfare and could decrease their spending under a UBI.
To see the full Economist basic income calculator, click here.
Data Team, “Daily chart: Universal basic income in the OECD”, The Economist, June 3, 2016.
by Kate McFarland | Aug 16, 2016 | News
This summer, Jim Pugh (cofounder of the Universal Income Project) and Owen Poindexter launched the first podcast exclusively about basic income, which bears the apt name “The Basic Income Podcast“.
The Basic Income Podcast publishes new episodes approximately weekly, each featuring a different guest. The inaugural broadcast featured Che Wagner, one of the activists behind the basic income referendum in Switzerland. Subsequent guests have included Camila Thorndike of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, who spoke about the campaign for a carbon tax and dividend, and Joe Huston of GiveDirectly.
Listen to past and future episodes at The Basic Income Podcast’s web home or on iTunes.
by Kate McFarland | Aug 12, 2016 | News
Journalist James Surowiecki, staff writer at The New Yorker, has written an article in which he rehearses some of the reasons to support a basic income.
The U.B.I. is often framed as a tool for fighting poverty, but it would have other important benefits. By providing an income cushion, it would increase workers’ bargaining power, potentially driving up wages. It would make it easier for people to take risks with their job choices, and to invest in education.
Surowiecki even suggests that the adoption of the policy in the United States is not out-of-the-question:
If the U.B.I. comes to be seen as a kind of insurance against a radically changing job market, rather than simply as a handout, the politics around it will change. When this happens, it’s easy to imagine a basic income going overnight from completely improbable to totally necessary.
Read the full article here:
James Surowiecki, “The Case for Free Money: Why don’t we have universal basic income?” The New Yorker, June 20, 2016.
Photo of Surowiecki (2014) CC Mark Schierbecker
