by Josh Martin | Jul 15, 2015 | News
Following the declarations of support for a basic income guarantee by Mayor Don Iveson of Edmonton and Mayor Naheed Nenshi of Calgary, the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Campaign for a Basic Income Guarantee (C-BIG) has called on the provinces’ politicians to seize this political momentum for a basic income. All four political party leaders in PEI have gone on record in support of basic income, and C-BIG hopes to generate enough momentum for basic income to culminate in a pilot project in PEI.
For more information, see the following links:
Anne Wheatley, “Campaign calls on P.E.I. politicians to join Calgary and Edmonton mayors in backing basic income guarantee”, Campaign for a Basic Income Guarantee, 10 July 2015.
Roderick Benns, “Alberta’s big city mayors bring capacity crowd to their feet at national summit on poverty”, Leaders and Legacies, 7 May 2015.
Marie Burge, “P.E.I. ideal place to pilot basic income guarantee”, The Guardian, 10 April 2014.
by Josh Martin | Jul 7, 2015 | News
The article is an insightful thought on the advantages as well the risks of granting a basic income, particularly within a political context characterised by laissez-faire capitalism. Nevertheless taking into account the evidence that formal working hours will be dramatically reduced in the years ahead and that reducing the length of formal working week might be unavoidable, basic income is a reasonable proposal to pave the way towards fewer formal working hours and to support the caring economy. The main challenge lies in financing basic income. The author proposes a different way from traditional taxing on profits and wages: land value taxation. That means instituting a social dividend that is firmly based on the principle of sharing, in which all citizens have a right to income from “natural property”, such as land and other resources that are either inherited or co-created by society.
Rajesh Makwana, “From Basic Income to Social Dividend”. Share the World Resources. 18 March 2015.
by Josh Martin | Jun 7, 2015 | News
Schiller writes an excellent introductory article to the idea of a basic income. He discusses its diverse political attractiveness as well as the empirical studies already done on basic income. He also discusses automation and the tech elite’s support for a basic income.
Ben Schiller, “A Universal Basic Income Is The Bipartisan Solution To Poverty We’ve Been Waiting For”, Co.exist, 16 March 2015.
by Josh Martin | Jun 6, 2015 | News
Santens writes largely about electoral system issues in the U.S. and refutes the argument that Nader cost Gore the election in 2000. In fact, he argues that too many people didn’t vote for Nader, which would have impacted the presidency more. Nader, and the rest of the Green party, is a long-time supporter of basic income.
Scott Santens, “I Voted for Nader. Twice.” 4 November 2014.
by Josh Martin | Jun 5, 2015 | News
Blunt writes in the UK right before the general election, highlighting the moral deficit present in current welfare legislation. Blunt argues that punishing people in poverty literally impacts their ability to make good decisions and that even prisoners receive the necessities to live. In all, a basic income would help fix these issues.
Jax Blunt, “Welfare reform: the moral and practical case for basic income”, Live Otherwise, 6 May 2015.
