by BIEN | Feb 14, 2017 | News
(Image credit: CommonSpace)
Robin Clunie, an architect, outlined in a recent article the way Scotland can take control of its land to provide for all of its citizens. With an amendment to land ownership laws, this could be done, according to Clunie.
Clunie said, “All land except that immediately attached to a residence is taken into the people’s ownership in perpetuity.” It would be a “community buy out.” Everyone in the community would have a ‘vote’ in the ways that the land is used.
Rents would be at a basic social wage for those age 16 and up, along with allowances for children up to the age of 15. Clunie argues for it as non-nationalisation and “democratisation of the ownership” of the non-domestic land.
More information at:
Robin Clunie, “Robin Clunie: How to use Scotland’s land to create a brand new people’s welfare“. CommonSpace, December 2nd, 2016
by BIEN | Feb 12, 2017 | News
Anthony Painter (credit to: RSA)
Anthony Painter, Director of the Action and Research Center at the RSA, in an editorial article described an experiment in the middle of the 1970s in the small town of Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada. As Painter describes, there were “statistically significant benefits” to the physical and mental health of the participants in the experiment, which was in the British Medical Journal.
The experiment involved the provision of “a basic income—a regular, unconditional payment made to each and every citizen” of Dauphin. A complete statistical analysis was not provided for several decades because of a loss of political interest.
Painter claims inequality and poor health outcomes is a well-established finding with the mechanism is less known.
Read the full article here:
Anthony Painter, “A universal basic income: the answer to poverty, insecurity, and health inequality?“, The British Medical Journal, December 12th, 2016
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by BIEN | Feb 5, 2017 | News
(Credit to: The American Prospect)
Delphine d’Amora from Mother Jones has offered a brief history of the idea of basic income, tracking its development from the 18th century to its current resurgence with prominent modern advocates, such as Belgian philosophy professor Philippe van Parijs, and various basic income experiments ongoing in a number of countries.
“After decades of obscurity, the idea is suddenly in fashion,” d’Amora notes, “Politicians around the world are interested and a handful of governments, such as Finland and the Canadian province of Ontario, are planning or considering basic-income pilot projects.”
The article is an in-depth, chronological history of basic income, starting with the 18th century, and including various manifestations of the idea, including negative income tax as described by American economist Milton Friedman in an embedded video.
Read the full article here:
Delphine d’Amora, “A Brief History of the Idea That Everyone Should Get Free Cash for Life
“, Mother Jones, December 26th 2016
by BIEN | Feb 4, 2017 | News
(Image Credit: Le Monde)
Thomas Piketty, Professor in the Paris School of Economics and author of Capital in the 21st Century, in his blog (in Le Monde) reports “there is a degree of consensus in France” on the provision of a minimum income. French citizens are for it.
For the minimum income, Piketty says disagreements exist around the amount. The consensus for the provision of a basic income is seen in “numerous other European countries,” Picketty claims. Piketty notes the problem with discussions about basic income is the “real issues” are not explored and can represent “social justice on the cheap.”
“The question of justice is not simply a matter of 530 Euros or 800 Euros a month,” Picketty said, “If we wish to live in a fair and just society we have to formulate more ambitious objectives.”
Piketty said, “The debate on basic income has at least one virtue, namely that of reminding us that there is a degree of consensus in France on the fact that everyone should have a minimum income.”
In a previous interview, Piketty supported some arguments for a basic income (financing access to basic goods) and remained skeptical about other arguments (substitute for basic goods) for a basic income.
Read the full article here:
Thomas Piketty, “Basic income or fair wage?“, Le Monde, December 13th, 2016
by BIEN | Jan 31, 2017 | News
Credit to Business Insider
According to Chris Weller from Business Insider, Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator (the largest startup accelerator in Silicon Valley), recently voiced some of his doubts regarding people replacing their current work with other meaningful work or activities if given a basic income.
Weller reports Altman puts faith in the provision of free money to make people both healthier and happier, but isn’t betting everything on it.
According to Weller, Altman, and other Y Combinator researchers, will implement an experiment in 2017, located in Oakland, California. It will give 100 families $2,000 per month. It is to test whether free, regular money helps “people escape poverty and live healthier lives,” Weller explains.
According to Weller, experiments, in Kenya and Honduras, show this; both are underdeveloped countries. Some see work for work’s sake as an intrinsic value. Well suggests separation of work from income might not sit well with those people, but might if presented as freedom from hated work.
“Citizens could finally do the work that matters most to them rather than the work that pays the best.” Weller argued.
Read the full article here:
Chris Weller, “One of the biggest VCs in Silicon Valley explains how basic income could fail in America“, Business Insider, December 18th, 2016.
