On Thursday, August 10, the US progressive conference Netroots Nation will host a panel discussion titled “A Progressive Vision of Universal Basic Income.”

The session will examine what type of basic income might “lift up those who are struggling, both today and going forward into the future,” and what implementations of the idea might “leave many worse off than they are today.”

Sandhya Anantharaman of the Universal Income Project will moderate a panel consisting of Joe Dinkin (National Communications Director for Working Families), Reetu Mody (Policy Associate at Presente.org), Tom Perriello (President of the Center for American Progress Action Fund), and Saket Soni (Executive Director of the New Orleans Workersʹ Center for Racial Justice).  

Details about the “Progressive Vision of Universal Basic Income” panel, along with biographies of some the panelists, are available on the conference website.

First convened in 2006, Netroots Nation is an annual conference for progressive activists organized by the left-wing political blog Daily Kos. According to its website, the conference is the “largest annual conference for progressives,” attracting nearly 3000 attendees from the US and beyond.  

This year, Netroots Nation will take place from August 10-13 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. Wikipedia describes the 2017 conference as “the most diverse event to date, with 69 percent of selected speakers and moderators being people of color.” The event is registration only, with adult ticket prices beginning at $395 USD. A complete schedule of activities, which include keynote talks, breakout sessions, and activist training workshops, is viewable on Netroots Nation’s website.

Netroots Nation will also be livestreaming the conference on its Facebook page


Reviewed by Russell Ingram

Photo: “Looking Up” CC BY 2.0 Lee Coursey (interior view of Hyatt Regency Atlanta)