Robert W. Lester, a blogger who specialized in debunking cults, has accused the Equal Life Foundation (ELF) of deceptively using the term “Basic Income Guaranteed”—BIG with a “D” added at the end. For a while, ELF was using the term BIG with a D for a program that had some similarities to the Basic Income Guarantee as usually defined by groups such as the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) and the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee (USBIG) Network. Although ELF’s proposal was substantially different from most BIG proposals (for example, it was means tested and included a temporary work requirement), ELF not only used a similar term but also referred to BIEN- and USBIG-affiliated researchers. These efforts was the basis for Lester’s claim of deception. Lester also accused ELF for being a cult because it is affiliated with a questionable money-making effort called Desteni. According to Lester, ELF had hoped to fool people into believing that giving money to Desteni would support research done by BIEN-affiliated researchers.
Since the release of a video by Lester earlier this year, ELF has reduced its use of the term BIG with a D, replacing it with the term Living Income Guaranteed (LIG). People at ELF might simply have made an honest mistaking, thinking their proposal was closer to BIG than it actually is. However, one Cult-debunking website claims that ELF still uses BIG with a D occasionally, still uses the domain name basicincome.me, and still refers to some BIEN-affiliated work without nothing the difference between LIG and BIG. Some argue that ELF’s overall program, of which LIG is only a small part, is totalitarian.
Several links on the confusion between LIG and BIG are below.
VIDEO: Robert W. Lester, “Desteni Basic Income – Scam?,” YouTube. This article claims ELS is a cult deceptively using the term BIG.
The Desteni Cult, “Equal Life Foundation & Living Income Guaranteed,” October 2013. This article, on a website entirely dedicated to examining Desteni as a cult accuses ELF of misusing BIG and LIG.
Robin Ketelaars, “You can also abuse the term Basic Income for personal gain” Orthelius.info, July 4, 2013. In this article, Robin Ketelaars, of BIEN’s affiliate in the Netherlands and of the European Citizens’ Initiative for Basic Income, discusses Desteni as a cult and outlines differences between LIG and BIG.
Karsten Lieberkind, “OPINION: Living Income Guaranteed – A proposal for a Basic Income from Equal Life Foundation,” BI News, September 23, 2013. In an earlier opinion piece on BI News, Karsten Lieberkind, of BIEN’s Danish affiliate discusses the LIG as an proposal related to Basic Income, without discussing the cult accusations.
The Living Income Guaranteed. A website run by ELF/Desteni has links to many articles related to their LIG proposal.
This is an interesting post, but it seems rather one-sided. I am a man of science so I always look at the evidence. This article is not structured with providing a single argument that is backed with evidence. Instead I see a string of assertions, which are assumed true for their own sake. So the title of the article is accurate that it is an accusation. However, what worth is an accusation, without evidence? I have actually followed Desteni’s development of BIG, which is now LIG. And I applaud Mr. Karsten Lieberkind for a rather well done investigation of LIG, which can be found on BIEN. I would suggest that articles posted on website would be peer-reviewed. In other words have a greater level of quality and usefulness. Otherwise we end up with something found in a gossip magazine, which unfortunately was found here. Thank you.
Yogan Barrientos is confusing the reporter with the people it’s reporting on. This report doesn’t make any assertions of it’s own. It reports on what other people are saying. It makes very clear who is saying what. And it gives links to those websites so that the reader can verify that the people mentioned actually said what this report claims. This is what any good news outlet does.
This is what all reports on the news side of BI News does (including literature, events, links, etc.). Only the features section, where Karsten Lieberkind’s piece appeared, includes the opinions of people affiliated with BI News.
BI News’s role is to report on what other people are saying about BI whether it’s agreeable or disagreeable. People need a place where they can find out what people are saying on all sides of the BI issue.