A Basic Income is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.
The Royal Society of Arts Explains: [2 minutes]
BIEN Congresses
The next annual BIEN Congress will occur August 19th-22th at the Toronto Metropolitan University. The BIEN Congress will not be occurring in USA this year.
Theme: Basic Income and the Polycrisis: The Key to Unlocking the Puzzle 🔑
See pictures from the 24th BIEN CONGRESS in Maricá & Niterói here.
Recent News, Opinion, and Research
Taiwan’s proposed sovereign wealth fund should give every citizen a share
Taiwan’s proposed sovereign wealth fund should give every eligible citizen locked public wealth shares, pairing long-term public ownership with an annual distribution that people can take in cash or reinvest.
The Land Dividend: How a Land Value Tax Can Fund a UBI
Imagine two plots of land in the heart of a big city, side by side, the exact same size. On one stands a gleaming fifty-story tower full of offices and apartments and shops. On the other sits a zero-story parking lot. Now ask yourself: which owner pays more in taxes?...
How a ‘terrible’ website helped basic income go global
Between 1996 and 2006, BIEN used a rudimentary website and international congresses to expand beyond Europe and become the Basic Income Earth Network.
Taiwan’s basic income debate is being fueled by the AI revolution
Taiwan’s basic income debate is increasingly connected to who gains and loses from technology.
How ‘lonely fighters’ built basic income’s first home
BIEN’s first decade gave a scattered idea a name, a mailing list, a newsletter, a rhythm of congresses, and eventually a public address.
Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth
Last week the UN Special Rapporteur for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Olivier De Schutter, presented the Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth to the UN Human Rights Council, outlining a visionary, hopeful, radical pathway beyond the crises and...
Taiwan is considering more universal cash. It should be permanent.
Taiwan’s repeated universal cash handouts show that cash transfers have become politically normal, but the country still needs a permanent, periodic floor rather than one-off payments tied to surpluses and elections.
Student talent night raises thousands for UBI Taiwan’s single-parent basic income program
Students at Taipei’s Forum Music Auditorium raised funds for UBI Taiwan’s single-parent basic income program through a talent night sponsored by Ascent Academy.
BIEN 40th anniversary: The 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and beyond
BIEN in the 1980s What if your income didn't depend on having a job? The 1980s began with small meetings and turned into a network. In September 1986, around sixty people gathered in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. To read the full article, click here. BIEN in the 1990s...
UNLOCKING NEW PATHWAYS FOR ERADICATING POVERTY BEYOND GROWTH
A roadmap for eradicating poverty beyond growth Together with United Nations agencies, governments, civil society, academics, trade unions and others, the former Special Rapporteur is developing a Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth. The Roadmap will be...
BIEN Invites Contributors to Share Memories for 40th Anniversary Oral History Project
As the Basic Income Earth Network prepares to mark its 40th anniversary, BIEN is inviting longtime members, contributors, affiliates, activists, scholars, and supporters to take part in its 40th Anniversary Oral History Project. The project will collect personal...
The idea that could fix the economy overnight | Guy Standing video on UBI
Guy Standing is professor of Development Studies at SOAS and co-founder of the Basic Income Earth Network. He is best known as a long-standing and prominent advocate of Universal Basic Income, but he is also responsible for redefining and revitalising the term...