EVENT: A Basic Income For Canada and Manitoba Why Not? (Winnipeg, february 5th 2015)

EVENT: A Basic Income For Canada and Manitoba Why Not? (Winnipeg, february 5th 2015)

by | Jan 23, 2015 | News

The University of Manitoba will host a one-day symposium, entitled, “A Basic Income For Canada and Manitoba: Why Not?”

The featured Speaker is Jurgen De Wispelaere, a Fellow at the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill University, Montreal Canada. He is a founding editor of the journal Basic Income Studies, co-editor of three books, and author of dozens of peer-reviewed articles. His research interests span the philosophical aspects of social policy and institutional design, including unconditional basic income, disability policy, adoption policy, and health.

The symposium will also include presentations by academic and community researchers who are working on Basic Income and related aspects of economic security:

Nicole Beasse, Faculty Of Law, UM

Evelyn Forget, Department Of Community Health Sciences, UM
Sid Frankel, Faculty Of Social Work, UM

Jim Mulvale, Faculty Of Social Work, UM

Gregg Olsen, Department Of Sociology, UM

Wayne Simpson, Department Of Economics, UM

Harvey Stevens, Department Of Economics, UM
James Wilson, Treaty Commissioner For Manitoba

This symposium is open to faculty members, students, and members of the community at no charge. Lunch will also be included.

FEBRUARY 5, 2015 – 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Hanley Hall – St. Paul’s College University of Manitoba
Free Event – Registration is required as seating is limited.
Click here for more information and to register

Brooklyn, NY and online: Meeting to Discuss a Political Movement for Basic Income, March 1, 2015

by | Jan 17, 2015 | News

Interest in Basic Income—an unconditional cash income for all citizens without means test or work requirement—is taking off around the world. Activists groups have formed and become more active around the world. Some political parties have endorsed the idea. Writers around the world are increasingly discussing Basic Income as a response to technological unemployment, precarity, and even as part of a solution to the climate problem.

With all this activity around the world, interest in the formation of an American political movement for Basic Income is growing. Toward this effort the USBIG Network will host an open meeting for anyone interested in a political movement for Basic Income in the United States. Everyone is welcome to attend. All points of view are encouraged. It will be an open discussion with no preset agenda and no list of speakers.

Let’s get together; talk it over; and see what happens.

The USBIG Network has been around since December of 1999, but it is not an activists’ group. Its goals have been to increase discussion and research into the topic. To have an activists’ group, either USBIG will have to change or a new, separate organization will have to form. Thus at the close of the 14th Annual North American Basic Income (NABIG) Guarantee Congress, USBIG will organize this public discussion.

Everyone who is interested in discussing this issue is invited to come. Anyone who can’t be there in person is invited to participate online (we’ll announce details about how the meeting will be connected to the web later). We’ll be using an open format that gives everyone opportunities to participate actively, equally.

We request anyone interest in helping with the event to contact us. If you have a place in the city where you can put people up who are coming to town for the meeting, please contact us.

We’ll have pizza and drinks. We’ll take up a collection to pay for them, but they’ll be distributed unconditionally—even to those unwilling or unable to contribute to the costs.

Time & date: 6:00pm, Sunday March 1, 2015
Location: The Commons Brooklyn, 388 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11217 (easy to get to by subway from the rest of New York City)
Contact: Karl@widerquist.com

The Commons Brooklyn

The Commons Brooklyn

UNITED STATES: Democratic Proposal Small Step in the Direction of BIG

UNITED STATES: Democratic Proposal Small Step in the Direction of BIG

by | Jan 14, 2015 | News

U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen (a Democrat from Maryland) has proposed introduce a small financial transactions tax (essentially a tax on Wall Street speculators) to finance a $1000 per year tax credit, which will be added to the paychecks of all workers earning under $100,000, or working couples earning under $200,000. This proposal would come in addition to the existing “Earned Income Tax Credit,” and it would be closer to universal, probably reaching a substantial majority of the population.

A proposal reaching so many people can be seen as a step in the direction of a basic income. However, the proposal has several differences with a basic income, most notably, it is conditional on labor. This cuts out some of the most needy people in society including the disable, children, people with fulltime care responsibilities, and people who can’t find an acceptable job. Being conditional on labor, some of the benefit of the tax credit is likely to be captured by employers who might have an incentive to reduce wages or foregone raises because the government is now paying the first $1000 of most of their employees wages. The overall effect is likely to be higher living standards for the average work, but by less than the full $1000 economists would expect from a lump sum payment such as a basic income.

The plan is not likely to gain much support in the Republican-controlled Congress. But if it gathers support among Washington policymakers, perhaps a debate will form on ideas related to basic income.

For more information on the proposal see:

Richard Kirsch, “Van Hollen Tax Proposal an Economic and Political Home Run.” The Huffington Post. 01/12/2015

Budget Committee Democrats, “An Action Plan to Grow the Paychecks of All, Not Just the Wealthy Few.” Budget Committee Democrats (website). Accessed January 14, 2015.