by Stanislas Jourdan | Jan 26, 2016 | News
Basic income continues to make headway in France after the Minister of Economy and the Minister for Digital Affairs sent positive messages about it.
Interviewed in the popular radio and TV show Bourdin Direct, Emmanuel Macron, the French Minister for Economy, said he believed in the principles behind basic income and thought the topic deserved to be investigated further:
“Basic income is an interesting idea. The debate shouldn’t only be about being pro or against, but I think it’s an idea we should investigate further. Why? Because it means giving the possibility to everyone to have a starting point in life. This is the idea of basic income. There is also the idea of having a basic capital [a one-off payment given to everyone] for all persons of a certain age.”
He went on:
“Ultimately, it refers to what philosophy we have of our society. Personally I believe in freedom, I believe in openness (…) I think the role of the state is to recreate conditions of equality at every moment in one’s life: at school, when starting one’s professional life, and when life accidents occur, through social standards and social benefits and education policy for unemployed persons (…). But I don’t believe in egalitarianism, rather I believe in equal opportunities; and the idea of basic income or basic capital for all goes in this direction and I’m interested in this.”
The interview was broadcasted live on January 20, you can listen to the extract about basic income below:
“Basic income is following the natural course of history”
The night before however, the French National Assembly had rejected several amendments calling on the government to carry out a comprehensive study on basic income to assess its feasibility and explore different ways to implement it.
The amendments were championed by Socialist MP Delphine Batho and her Republican colleague Frédéric Lefebvre in the context of a current bill on so-called ‘Digital Republic’, and were meant as a follow-up of the release of an important report on the transformations of work in the digital era.
The night just before the French National Assembly rejected the amendments by only one vote. However Luc Belot, rapporteur of the bill, and Axelle Lemaire, Minister for Digital Affairs, said they were open to the idea.
“The idea is very seductive and could find consensus across all political parties – as long as we don’t go into the details” said the Minister. “In reality this sort of unique safety floor could lead to removing many benefits such as student grants, family and housing benefits and others. On the other hand, one may also consider the possibility that basic income could complement other social benefit schemes. The debate is infinite. You are right to raise this question, and to do that today. In fact, this subject is definitely following the natural course of history.”
However, both the Minister and rapporteur called on the MPs to reject the amendments on the ground that the topic fell outside of the focus of the bill being discussed. They invited MPs to include basic income into the work of another parliamentary working commission led by Christophe Sirugue, which has been tasked to produce a comprehensive review of the welfare system.
The French Movement for Basic income (MFRB) has been asked to contribute to the commission’s work. “We are currently working on providing concrete proposals to pave the way towards basic income” said researcher and MFRB member Jean-Éric Hyafil.
Credit picture CC École Polytechnique
by Stanislas Jourdan | Jan 22, 2016 | News
British Member of Parliament Caroline Lucas, the only Green Party representative, tabled a motion which calls on the Government to commission research into basic income models. Now an unprecedented level of support is required to make it successful.
On Wednesday 20, MP Caroline Lucas tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) “calling on the Government to fund and commission further research into the possibilities offered by the various Basic Income models, their feasibility, their potential to guarantee additional help for those who need it most, and how the complex economic and social challenges of introducing a Basic Income might be met.”
The EDM justifies the need for basic income by castigating the “evident inability of our bureaucratically costly social security system, with its dependence on means-testing and often arbitrary sanctions, to provide an adequate income floor.”
The motion goes on: “Basic Income, an unconditional, non-withdrawable income paid to everyone, has the potential to offer genuine social security to all while boosting entrepreneurialism and the creation of small businesses.”
Uncertain success
This is the first time that such a motion has been submitted to Parliament, and its potential for success in uncertain. Under the UK’s Parliamentary procedure, MPs can submit so-called Early Day Motions to provoke a debate in the House of Commons, but they need significant support from other MPs to win a full debate.
In practice, very few motions actually get debated in Parliament even if they do attract wide support, although they may contribute to triggering public interest and debate in the media. And even if an EDM does get a debate, legislation does not automatically follow. It can be, however, a very good way to test support for potential legislation.
The Green Party of England and Wales adopted basic income as a party policy last year, ahead of the last general election in May 2015. However Caroline Lucas herself, the only Green Party MP, was not very enthusiastic about the idea at the time, referring to it as “a longer term aspiration” rather than a strong electoral commitment.
The sight of how her constituents in Brighton are suffering due to increasing cuts in welfare benefits, and the arbitrary way sanctions are applied, seemed to have convinced her to fully back the policy.
“I’m not for a second pretending that shifting to basic income would be simple. But with a rapidly changing economy the Government should be urgently exploring ways to offer people the security they need. I hope that MPs from across the House of Commons will join me in calling for more research into this bold new policy,” Lucas said to the Independent.
An interesting challenge for the movement
Indeed Caroline Lucas’ motion will need unprecedented support in the political establishment to get a Parliamentary debate. As the UK Parliament website explains, “In an average session only six or seven EDMs reach over two hundred signatures. Around seventy or eighty get over one hundred signatures. The majority will attract only one or two signatures.” And even if there is wide support for the motion, a chamber debate is not guaranteed.
So far the motion has already been supported by 8 other MPs, 7 Scottish National Party members and one Labour MP.
Following international developments in Finland, Netherlands and Switzerland, the idea was recently endorsed by two prominent British think tanks, the Royal Society of Arts and Nesta. This triggered an unprecedented wave of media attention and the idea has started to gain credibility in British public opinion. This EDM is a great opportunity to gather wider support.
UK Parliamentary picture is reproduced with the permission of Parliament.
by Stanislas Jourdan | Jan 7, 2016 | News
A report written by a government agency dedicated to Digital Affairs for the French Ministry of Labor recommends experimenting with an unconditional basic income to cope with the fundamental transformations of work in the context of the growing digital economy.
How do automation and digitalization of activities impact working conditions? This was one of the key questions the National Digital Council was tasked to address in a report sponsored by the French Ministry of Labor and Social Dialogue. The Digital Council is a public agency created in 2012 to advise the French government on matters related to the digital world.
The report was released earlier this week – see the full report here. It makes an important case for basic income, and calls for a thorough appraisal of “the various proposals and experiments around basic income”. Basic income is part of the twenty main recommendations contained in the report.
Minister of Labour is sceptical but does not reject the proposal
The Minister of Labor Myriam El Khomri was not so enthusiastic but did not close the door on the idea: “I do not want to dismiss it, but at first sight I am not sure about its cost,” she said.
According to the report, the existing social protection model has been pushed to its limits, and the labor market has failed to reward many different forms of activities, and thus provide an income to everyone.
These phenomena are not new, but technology is accelerating the trends. Automation is displacing jobs and killing aggregate demand in the economy. The development of invisible forms of production on the internet – what is commonly referred to as ‘digital labor’ – is leading to new forms of production that do not remunerate people for their work. As a consequence, there is a need for new kinds of redistribution systems, such as a basic income.
The report reviews many common arguments for introducing an unconditional and universal basic income, and quickly sketches different proposals on how to implement it. These include a reform of the tax-benefit system, various forms of money creation (such as quantitative easing for people), and raising corporate taxes to remunerate invisible and unpaid labor.
Although the report does not express a preference for a specific proposal, it calls for two concrete steps:
- A feasibility study on basic income to be conducted by a team of economists, statisticians, fiscal and legal experts. The aim would be to develop a simulation tool of the transition to a basic income, and carry out an impact assessment of each proposal in the public debate.
- Local basic income experiments that complement the feasibility study and consider various scenarios.
“We cannot ignore this movement.”
“This is the first time a report of a public agency discusses a basic income linked to digital transformations” Benoit Thieulin, one of the report authors, said. “Governments need to seize the opportunity and help with the reform of our solidarity and redistribution models. Experiments are conducted in several countries, we cannot ignore this movement.”
Basic income was only the last of 20 recommendations, yet it made most of the headlines in French media.
“For a long time I have also been sceptical about basic income … I wasn’t too convinced,” Thieulin explained in an interview. “But today this idea puts everything into question. Especially now that the welfare system is cracking everywhere. Half of the people don’t claim their benefits! Administration costs are enormous! … At some point one has to ask if it would not be simpler, less expensive and more beneficial for all if we had a universal safety net.”
The French Movement for Basic Income, a BIEN affiliate, was among the organisations consulted during the writing process and welcomed the release of the report. “It is a timely report that opens the debate in the best possible terms,” International Coordinator Nicole Teke said to BIEN.
The French government has commissioned another report to review all social benefits, with special attention to be paid to the existing minimum income scheme. The French Movement for Basic Income announced that it will submit proposals to pave the way for the introduction of a basic income.
by Stanislas Jourdan | Dec 31, 2015 | News
The French Movement for Basic Income (an affiliate of BIEN) has launched an ambitious crowdfunding call, aiming at collecting 25,000 euros to fund a series of new projects.
The French Movement for Basic Income, founded in 2013 following up the European Citizens’ initiative, has significantly contributed to building momentum for basic income. It now needs to scale-up and reach a next step.
This is why the movement has begun a crowdfunding campaign, initiated in early November 2015. As its crowdfunding page explains, the money will be divided among 8 key projects:
- Create campaigning tools and distribute them among the network of local groups across France.
- Participate in COP21 events by having a stall in the Village of Alternatives (this project was already carried out early December).
- Publish a whitepaper on basic income which will provide a synthesis of arguments, theories and proposals for implementing basic income in France. This will greatly help advocacy activities.
- Develop a new website to improve the promotion of basic income online.
- Print 50k extra issues of the newspaper ‘L’inconditionnel’ which was initially launched in 2014 in partnership with Swiss and Belgian activists. The first issue has met a huge level of demand, leading to a shortage of copies.
- Finance an independent public poll to assess the level of awareness and support for basic income in France. This will allow the movement to monitor the progress made since the last poll in May 2015.
- Launch a new issue of L’Inconditionnel. (Everyone is demanding it!)
- New video clips explaining basic income to the public.
While most of the crowdsourced money will be applied to these specific projects, about 30% will be used to pay for the running costs of the association. The association will soon have an office in Paris, and it is considering a plan to hire permanent staff members.
“So far, the association’s funding has been mostly entirely relying on membership fees and donations, and partly through subsidies from MPs. This campaign will allow us to speed up our projects and accelerate the growth of the movement,” says Nicole Teke, international coordinator for UBI-France. About 6,500 euros have already been collected, and the organizers hope to reach the 25,000 target within two months.
In France – as in many other nations – basic income has enjoyed mainstream popularity over the past few months. In May, a poll has showed that 60% of the population would be in favor of a basic income, and the feasibility of a pilot project is being pushed in the South-West Region of France.
You can donate here.
by Stanislas Jourdan | Nov 22, 2015 | News
Next December 3rd, Basic Income UK will be hosting a conversation with Brian Eno, David Graeber, and Frances Coppola. The discussion will be facilitated by Becca Kirkpatrick from Unison.
Brian Eno is a musician, composer, record producer, singer, and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music. He recently spoke about basic income during his John Peel Lecture on Radio 6.
David Graeber is an American anthropologist and anarchist activist, perhaps best known for his 2011 volume Debt: the first 5000 years. He is Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics.
Frances Coppola worked in banks for 17 years. She is now a musician and teacher, who writes on economics, finance and banking at Piera, Forbes and her own blog Coppola Comment.
Fond out the details of the event on Meetup.com
