The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) announced on Monday that they would be giving more than $25 million worth of grants to seven guaranteed income projects across the state.
1,975 Californians – including former foster youth and pregnant women – will receive
anywhere from $600-$1,200 per month.
Read an article about the grants in the California Globe here.
Michael W. Howard is professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Maine, past president of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network, past co-editor of Basic Income Studies, and co-editor, with Karl Widerquist, of two books on Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend. On 6 January 2023 the prestigious magazine, Scientific American published an article by him entitled “The U.S. Could Help Solve Its Poverty Problem with a Universal Basic Income”.
Click here to read the article.
Enno Schmidt filmed two outstanding presentations at the 2022 Freiburg Institute for Basic Income Studies (FRIBIS) Conference “Basic Income and Development” this past October. He has prepared two summaries together with a video link for each of them:
Sarath Davala, BIEN Chair, gave the opening keynote address,Towards a Basic Income Society: what humankind needs to do before we get there.
Miriam Laker-Oketta, research director of GiveDirectly, the world’s largest basic income project, made a presentation entitled Basic Income and its role in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss.
The 21st annual BIG Conference will be held in Chicago, June 8-9, 2023. The theme for the 2023 BIG Conference is Building Momentum Across the Movement, with a focus on the following areas: Building Intersectional Coalitions, Shifting Culture and Narratives, and Nurturing a Diverse Policy Landscape.
Please mark your calendars, spread the word, and consider submitting a proposal.
Submit your proposal by 20 January 2023: to do so start by clicking here.
Here is the conference website: https://www.thebigconference.org/
(Photo of Sergi Raventos, the Head of the Office of the Pilot Plan to Implement the Universal Basic Income in Catalonia by Rubén Moreno, Generalitat de Catalunya)
The Universal Basic Income (UBI) pilot plan is one of the projects that the Catalan Government will carry out during this term of office that ends in February 2025.
In the Catalan pilot plan, some 5,000 people will receive the UBI: 2,500 will be randomly selected from all households in Catalonia and the remaining 2,500 will correspond to the population of two municipalities.
During the two years of the pilot, participants will receive a monthly payment of €800 per adult and €300 per child under 18 years of age. Individuals with the 10% highest incomes will be excluded from participating in the pilot, as well as people who have paid the patrimony tax (real estate of more than 500.000 euros). This is because the economic simulations of what an hypothetical basic income policy in Catalonia would look like, stated that the balance between the taxes and the amount of money of the UBI would be negative for the 10-15% highest incomes – they wouldn’t have a net gain with the UBI. That’s why the design excludes them from the pilot. Also excluded are people who have had to pay the patrimony tax so as not to include people without labour income (who would be eligible) but have enormous wealth in properties (living off investments, rents, etc.).
All persons who, once the random selection by addresses and municipalities has been carried out and their selection has been communicated by mail, formalize their willingness to participate by means of the web form, will be considered as participants in the pilot plan.
For more information click here to visit the project’s English language website. A number of well-known BIEN members are on the Scientific Committee supporting the project. Click here to view a presentation on the project with details on its design.
The 24th BIEN CONGRESS in Maricá & Niterói – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 27-29 August 2025
Linkedin, Instagram, X – biencongress25 (at) gmail [dot] com
BIEN2024 was August 29–31 (Pictures and more coming soon)