Italy: Urgent petition in time of Corona Virus: “Citizen income for all! If not now, When?”

The Basic Income Network (BIN) Italia has published a petition pleading for the Italian governement and Parliament to immediately install an emergency basic income. There, it can be read:

To the Italian government and Parliament

EXPANDING THE CITIZEN’S INCOME SCHEME! IF NOT NOW, WHEN?

Right at a time when it is recognised that individuals must act as active and responsible members of their communities, it is necessary to prove we all truly adhere to the idea of a society that fulfils its members’ real needs. In short, it is time to guarantee the right to existence for all human beings.

Now that we are all facing sudden and unexpected changes, appropriate political and social structures are needed in order to both respond to the current (corona virus) emergency and introduce an universal social protection measure. It is time to simplify the social protection schemes so as to include the whole population, thus guaranteeing each individual access to these protections regardless of whether they are employed or not.

In 2019, Italy introduced a citizen’s income scheme which, if properly reformed in terms of universal access and less binding criteria, can be an important tool to support people and ensure them the right to access the resources they need to survive.

Therefore, we believe it is urgently necessary to:

• Expand access to the Citizen’s Income Scheme for all those who are excluded from social safety nets;
• Simplify procedures and access criteria, and make immediate benefit payments to new applicants;
• Deliver the benefit payment on an individual basis;
• Remove the existing constraints in terms of active labour market policies or other binding criteria, which now more than ever prove to be expensive and ineffective;
• Use all forms of financing, including European funds, to support a broader number of citizens’ income beneficiaries;
• Provide that changes made in terms of universal access do not end after the “quarantine” or “emergency” period, but rather become structural, thus eventually forming the basis for a new highly inclusive social welfare system.

Social Welfare is not a cost, but an investment!

The petition has been undersigned and supported by dozens of organizations operating in the Italian territory.