by Josh Martin | May 28, 2015 | News
This article highlights the gross misappropriation of federal antipoverty funding in the United States through the welfare program Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, known as TANF. A large proportion of the TANF block grants given to states are used for other state programs instead of alleviating poverty. This misuse of antipoverty funding would not occur under a basic income, since there would be no bureaucratic middleman to withhold antipoverty funds from the poor.
Scott Santens, “TANF is Terrible”, 1 April 2015.
by Josh Martin | May 20, 2015 | Research
Abstract: While basic income has surged in policy interest in recent years, political research has not kept up with the debate in the trenches. In this paper we tackle a political problem any enacting coalition must face: how to ensure the political stability of a basic income scheme over time. We first demonstrate how basic income schemes are particularly vulnerable to processes of policy change discussed in the recent policy feedback literature. We then analyze whether constitutionalizing basic income in a Bill of Rights protected by strong judicial review would offer a valuable route for boosting basic income’s stability. A careful examination of the decision-making process within judicial review suggests that, caught up in a dilemma between judicial restraint and judicial activism, an enacting coalition would do well not to rely on constitutional mechanisms as the sole avenue for ensuring the political stability of basic income.
by Josh Martin | May 18, 2015 | News
ANSA reported on May 12 that Lombardy Governor Maroni may introduce a basic income experiment in Lombardy, Italy. However, Sandro Gobetti, Coordinator of Basic Income Network Italia, suggests that these reports are unfounded and untrue, saying that Maroni has no intention of implementing a basic income scheme as defined by BIEN. For a more clear picture of the basic income situation in Italy, please visit Basic Income Network Italia’s website. Gobetti’s cautionary explanation can be found in the comments of this post, while ANSA’s article is printed below:
(ANSA) – Milan, May 12 – Lombardy Governor Roberto Maroni said Monday that his executive intends to introduce, on an experimental basis, a basic-income benefit to ensure all families in the region have enough money to be able to pay for basic necessities. Maroni said he intended to use 220 million euros from from the European Social Fund (ESF) for the initiative. “In Lombardy I want to bring in the first experiment of the basic income, reserved for citizens who are resident in Lombardy, and consistent with the aims of the European Social Fund”. To read ANSA’s article, click here.
Further, a discussion in Italian of this basic income experiment is taking place on Reddit. To read and join the discussion, click here.
by Josh Martin | May 16, 2015 | News
The Sustainable Economies Law Center of Oakland, California is hosting an event titled, “Income For All: A Basic Right? A conversation with author Peter Barnes” on May 18, 2015, at the Impact Hub Oakland. Peter Barnes’s recent book With Liberty and Dividends for All discusses the desirability of a universal basic income that comes from wealth instead of labor.
For more information, click here.
by Josh Martin | May 14, 2015 | News
Benns writes about the possibility of a ‘basic income’ in Canada, where each citizen would be entitled to $20,000. However, Benns seems to conflate a Negative Income Tax, which he effectively argues for, with a basic income, since he argues that $20,000 should be the ‘cut-off point’ where a citizen should not receive the basic income anymore. Regardless, Benns discusses the desirability of implementing a basic income guarantee in Canada.
Roderick Benns, “Goodbye welfare, hello basic income”, Leaders and Legacies, 1 May 2015.
