A Basic Income is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.
BIEN Congresses
The 2020 BIEN Congress was to be held in Brisbane in Australia from the 28th to the 30th September 2020. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the event has been cancelled. BIEN’s Executive Committee and the Scottish and Australian congress Local Organising Committees have agreed the following statement: ‘The Scottish and Australian Congress Local Organisation Committees have agreed that the current plan is to hold the 2021 BIEN congress in Scotland and the 2022 BIEN congress in Australia.’
Recent news
Namibia – UBI success and institutional failure
1. Namibia - country background A South West African state with a troublesome colonial history, Namibia has a population of around 2,5 million people and is one of the least populated countries in Africa due to its extremely dry climate. The country is rich in natural...
Spain: Daniel Raventós talks about Basic Income at Parliamentary Commission
On June 22nd 2020, researcher Daniel Raventós intervened before the Commission for Social and Economic Recostruction of the Congress of Deputies in Madrid.Prof. Raventós outlined his proposal of Universal Basic Income (UBI) starting by defining this economic measure...
USA: Open letter signed by 150 economists
150 economists in the United States have signed an open letter that asks for “Direct cash payments are an essential tool that will boost economic security, drive consumer spending, hasten the recovery, and promote certainty at all levels of government and the economy...
A new video from Massive Attack
On the 10th July 2020 Massive Attack published a video featuring Young Fathers (Massive Attack's 'younger brother'), Algiers, and Saul Williams, and featuring Guy Standing talking about Basic Income. The music is taken from the Eutopia EP and is written and produced...
Belgium’s chance for a welfare system revision
Like almost every European country, Belgium is facing declining trends of confirmed coronavirus cases. Its government is now looking for a balance between maintaining physical and mental health and restarting the economy. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes...
The UK: A Summer discussion series
The Basic Income Conversation is launching a Summer Discussion Series on Basic Income. It's a 3 part series that explores the Future of Work, Pilots, and Monetary Financing - some of the most talked about subjects when it comes to UBI. The first event is...
The UK considers universal vouchers
The Guardian newspaper reports that the UK Treasury is considering sending vouchers to everyone to spend on a range of goods. This would not be a Basic Income, but it shares some of its characteristics and would be an interesting experiment to watch. Radical plans to...
Los Angeles and Atlanta plan to test Basic Income
Rachel Sandler has written an article for the Forbes website about an increasing number of US cities planning to establish Basic Income pilot projects. The mayors of Los Angeles; Oakland, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Tacoma, Washington, Newark, New Jersey; Saint...
Irish Government commits to trialling UBI
The newly formed Government of the 33rd Dáil has committed to trialling Basic Income (BI) in Ireland over the next five years. The announcement was made in the Programme for Government (PfG) agreed between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. The document...