Picture from NABIG Conference (from live stream video)
There is a community of Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) supporters in the United States. To prove it, a small crowd of enthusiast and concerned citizens have got together in New York, the past weekend, to discuss BIG on the Fourteenth Annual North America Basic Income Guarantee Congress.
The event started on Thursday, the 26th of February, with a preconference public discussion at the Long Island City Art Center, followed by almost three days of a fulltime schedule conference, featuring 43 speakers and an audience of a similar size. These speakers formed a wide international panel of academics, city officials, government servants, union representatives, social movement activists, authors and even bank officials, not only from the USA, but also from Ireland, Brazil, Canada, Australia and Germany.
The live audience plus all those following the sessions online, through live streaming, listened to and actively participated in the discussion of a variety of subjects directly or indirectly related to BIG. The latter ranged from robotics and its influence on human society, to dealing with poverty, welfare programs, income distribution, BIG economical and social implications, labor transformations and also tax politics, human rights, social emancipation and involvement. Other important issues were addressed, like the failure of social assistance programs in the USA, corruption at charities, job
precariousness, and clues were highlighted as to how to introduce BIG into mainstream discourse and political discussions.
All along participants were encouraged to express their motivations, ideas and suggestions, in a thinking together kind of general environment, which culminated at an activist meeting at The Commons Brooklyn, moderated by Karl Widerquist and Steven Shafarman. At this meeting, held on the evening of March 1st, other activists like Scott Santens, Mark Witham, Jason Burke Murphy, Michael Bohmeyer and Mary Bricker-Jenkins were present, among other 24 who signed up for this encounter, which had the intent of starting a political movement for Basic Income in the United States. Although not named yet, this political movement is already working in BIG economy and social policy, establishing local BIG chapters, content creation (news and research media) and legally formalizing itself into two groups (a U.S. non-profit and a social welfare organization).
Picture from The Commons Brooklyn NABIG meeting (from live stream video)
More information at:
Karl Widerquist, “Brooklyn, NY: Report from the meeting to create a political movement for basic income“, Basic Income News, March 4 2015
“NABIG sessions“, Basic Income Project, March 2 2015
“BIGS Commons“, Basic Income Project, March 2 2015
