by Yannick Vanderborght | Dec 22, 2011 | News
According to the Financial Post (Dec.20, 2011), the Conference Board of Canada – an important not-for-profit applied research organization – is now “calling for a renewed look at the idea of a guaranteed annual income (GAI)” in Canada. In a Commentary, the Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist of the board, Glen Hodgson, writes that “there are three main advantages to a GAI. First, it would address poverty directly, and in a neutral fashion, via transfers provided through a single existing administrative system—the income tax system. (…) Second, a properly-designed GAI could reduce the “welfare wall” of high marginal tax rates on earned income for the working poor. (…) And third, a GAI could reduce health care spending on low-income persons.” Hodgson also refers to the study on MINCOME (a basic income experiment which was conducted in the province of Manitoba in the 1970s) which was recently published by Evelyn Forget (in Canadian Public Policy, September 2011). His conclusion sounds optimistic: “While deeper analysis would be needed to underpin the policy debate, a guaranteed annual income remains an appealing “big idea” whose time has yet to arrive politically. There is no better time than right now to heat up the debate.”
Financial Post article: click here
To read the Commentary by Glen Hodgson: click here
by Karl Widerquist | Dec 22, 2011 | News
A public meeting about “Precarity and guaranteed income” was held in Rome on 24th of November 2011. It was organized by Confederazione Generale Italia Lavoro (the Italian general confederation of work) of the Lazio region. Participants included Tina Bali (Secretary of CGIL Roma and Lazio), Sandro Gobetti (Bin Italy) and Michele Raitano (La Sapienza University, Rome) took part at the meeting. Meeting Coordinator was Martha Bonafoni (Director of Radio Popolare Roma). The meeting started at 5 pm and took place at the Detour Urban Oasis, Via Urbana 107 Rome.
The discussion focused on Precarity condition and the need for a guaranteed income in Italy within a broader context such as the European social model. The connection between precarity and guaranteed income has become a focal point in the debate especially for Italy, a country where more than 2.5 million young people are out of work and without any kind of income support.
More information (in Italian) about the meeting is online at:
https://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=313
by Karl Widerquist | Dec 21, 2011 | News
Gwang-eun Choi has created a slide show introducing the Basic Income pilot projects that have been taking place in India since January 2011:
https://prezi.com/-n3ms0jriljj/two-basic-income-pilot-projects-in-india/
by Sandro Gobetti | Dec 20, 2011 | News
The BIN-Italia website has a short video of a demonstration on November 22, 2003 when more than 50.000 people in Rome demonstrated for a guaranteed income. According to BIN-Italian, “Usually in all the demonstration the guaranteed income are one of the request from the people, social movement, precarious worker etc. But this short movie shows the largest demonstration in Italy just for a guaranteed income.”
https://www.livestream.com/binitalia/video?clipId=flv_1ce0092c-3f5d-434b-840b-6a1d44ec7387
by Karl Widerquist | Dec 19, 2011 | News
The Big Kahuna website outlines a detailed proposal for reform of New Zealand’s tax and welfare system. The proposal includes a basic income.
https://www.gmi.co.nz/bigkahuna/