by Peter Knight | Sep 13, 2023 | News
Comingle is an app under development that will unite people who want to make sure no one goes a week without income.
For a quick introduction, watch this video.
“We all need some extra money sometimes. Other times, we have a little extra to give. By connecting our finances using today’s technology, we can form a secure, anonymous network of generosity that automatically pools money and moves it to where it’s needed the most.”
In early September 2023 Comingle launched a crowndfund campaingn to raise US$75,000 to cover the development costs required to boost Comingle to the next phase, which will allow verification of user identities, detect fraud, address security concerns, and begin transferring real money on a weekly basis.
The ambitious goal is to get this launched and have at least 100,000 Americans living with a small UBI floor of around $50 a week by the end of 2025 that all those who join collectively make possible.
As of September 16, 57% of the goal had been reached with 19 days left to complete the job. Contributions are being matched (“Every time we hit another $1000 our matching donors will contribute $3000! Every dollar you donate now = $4!“). Comingle founder Conrad Shaw writes: “One of our $10K matching donors is doing a 1-1 match and remaining anonymous. The other $10K matching donor is doing a 2-1 match and is Katie Moussouris, who made a name for herself as a white hat hacker (the good kind of hacker) and is CEO/Founder of Luta Security.”
ITSA President and BIEN Member Scott Santens has a blog post supporting the campaign. He thinks is an important project, and writes that Forward Party Co-Chair Andrew Yang “dropped into one of our Spaces talking about this, and donated $5k live during the stream.”
by Peter Knight | Sep 7, 2023 | News
Niels I. Meyer, a pioneer in the Danish Basic Income movement and co-founder of BIEN, has passed away. A prolific writer as well as a frequent participant in public debates, Niels I. Meyer was in his professional life a professor in physics with important contributions to Denmark’s transition to sustainable energy.
Read more by clicking here.
by Peter Knight | Aug 31, 2023 | News
The FRIBIS Annual Conference 2023 from Oct. 09 – Oct. 11 will focus on Care & Gender as fundamental dimensions of human societies. It is dedicated to research, approaches and the possible interactions of care & gender in context of the Unconditional Basic Income (UBI). Although care and gender have many intersections, they have unique characteristics and specificities that necessitate separate consideration. Therefore, FRIBIS welcomes contributions which address the theme of care and gender separately or in tandem.
For more information visit the FRIBIS website.
Highlights (Keynotes & Panel Discussion)
Keynotes
Prof. Dr. Almaz Zelleke (NYU Shanghai): “Toward a Gender-Inclusive Social Policy State”
Prof. Dr. Ben Trott: “A Queer Case for the Basic Income at Our Current Conjuncture: Political Philosophy, Individual Rights and De-Individualisation“
Mag. Margit Appel: „Zusammendenken: Arbeit – Care – Grundeinkommen“
Panel Discussion
„Care-Ökologie und das Grundeinkommen: eine komplexe Beziehung“ mit Prof. Dr. Ute Fischer (Moderation) und den Gästen: Mag. Margit Appel, Prof. Dr. Georg Cremer, Dr. Christine Rudolf & Prof. Dr. Sascha Liebermann.
by Peter Knight | Aug 30, 2023 | News
In the eighth edition of Eduardo Suplicy’s book, Citizen’s Income: The Way out is through the Door (Renda de Cidadania: A Saída É Pela Porta) there is a dialog between Suplicy and now re-elected President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva on the occasion of Suplicy’s 80th birthday in 2022. Here is an English translation of part of that dialog:
“I think that, after the pandemic, Basic Income will return with much greater strength, and that it is not possible that we will not succeed in getting the world to adopt it. If Brazil has a democratic president who cares, the BRICS may adopt it. South America may begin to do this, we can evolve beginning with the realization of our vulnerabilities when we governed this country that we didn’t succeed in establishing certain policies.”
At the 22nd BIEN Congress in Seoul that ended August 26, Suplicy announced that he is proposing to President Lula the creation of a working group to study how to gradually implement the universalization of Basic Income in Brazil.
by Peter Knight | Aug 30, 2023 | News
Annie Miller, a co-founder of BIEN, has just published a new book, Basic Income: A Short Guide (Edinburgh: Luath Press). This is a clear, concise, and complete work that should be in the library of every supporter of basic income (BI).
The book begins with a critique of modern social insurance systems and means-tested social assistance safety nets and then sets forth an enhanced definition of BI that builds on the current definition found on the BIEN website. This new definition is informed by Annie’s participation in the BIEN task force currently working on improving this definition and was presented by her at the 22nd BIEN Congress in Seoul that just ended. To the five BIEN characteristics (periodic, cash payment, individual, universal, and unconditional) she adds a sixth, uniform: “the amount of a basic income is the same/equal for everyone within a given jurisdiction at a given time and does not vary according to pre-existing categories or circumstances.” She then argues that this uniform basic income should be a foundational element in a broader social protection plan that also includes “adequacy top-up payments, other differential benefits, targeted and non-uniform means-tested benefits, and other cash benefits for which basic income is not a good substitute, such as a welfare fund for emergency payments for fire or flood.”
The book goes on to discuss many practical issues such as integrating a basic income into existing social assistance programs, sources of finance, affordability issues, economic benefits, political support, empirical evidence from around the world, the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic, other recent developments, and suggestions for what BI supporters can do to advance the cause. It ends with a select bibliography – all this in 80 compact pages, a true tour de force.
