by Toru Yamamori | Jan 24, 2018 | News
During the World Economic Forum during 23rd-26th January in Davos, Switzerland, universal basic income (UBI) will be discussed at several sessions:
11:00 GMT 23 January: How Is Rentier Capitalism Aggravating Inequality?
For the summary, speakers and live streaming, please see here.
11:30 GMT 26 January: Guaranteed Income for Growth?
For the summary, speakers and live streaming, please see here.
Guy Standing, a Research Professor in Development Studies, University of London, and an honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network, who will be on the panels of the above two sessions, will also speak for UBI in the following two sessions:
13:30 GMT 23 January: Social Safety Nets for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
16:30 GMT 23 January: Bringing Dignity with Basic Income
The details of these two sessions is not yet disclosed online. UBI was also discussed the World Economic Forum held in 2017.
More information at:
Toru Yamamori, “INTERNATIONAL: Christopher Pissarides, a Nobel Laureate, argues for UBI at the World Economic Forum at Davos”, Basic Income News, 6th February 2017
by Toru Yamamori | Jan 1, 2018 | News
Sonia Sodha (Twitter account image)
Sonia Sodha, lead writer at the Observer, urges the British Left not to support UBI. According to her latest opinion piece for the Guardian, UBI will not cure any social disease that UBI advocates claim will be alleviated, and rather, it is currently a fatal distraction from other battles on which the British Left should focus.
Sodha charted the rationales for UBI in the following three categories: tech utopians’s prophecy of a decrease of jobs, Ken Loachian welfare critics’ blame against inhumanely complex welfare system, and.labour market dystopians’ poverty backstop against insecurity.
Sodha dismisses the tech utopian’s argument by insisting it falls ‘lump of labour fallacy’. According to Sodha, ‘[f]ar from robots stealing jobs, the reality is that many firms are underinvesting in technology, suppressing productivity’ in Britain, and ‘technology will radically reshape the world of work without reducing its sum total’. She also dismisses the argument of what she calls ‘Ken Loachian-welfare critics’ (though Loach himself has never argued what Sodha labels under his name) and states:
“We could fix the caring issue simply by increasing the generosity of the stingy state benefits paid to those who care full-time for older people or adults with disabilities. If we were so inclined, we could get rid of punitive benefit sanctions and replace them with a welfare-to-work system that puts much more emphasis on training and support for people to find the job that is right for them, not the first that comes along.”
Finally, Sodha opposes the labour market dystopians, by accusing them of not fighting for labour rights but for ‘a dribble of cash’. Similar points to Sonia Sodha’s were made by Bo Rothstein in a recent Social Europe article, ‘UBI: A bad idea for the welfare state’ A response followed, ‘Universal Basic Income: Definitions and details’. The same detailed response would apply here.
Behind her accusations, there is a recent move for UBI inside the Labour party. See the articles below for more on Labour Party activity regarding UBI support:
Toru Yamamori, “UNITED KINGDOM: Jeremy Corbyn, candidate for Labour Party leader, recruits Basic Income advocate to draft economic plan”, Basic Income News, August 8th 2015
Toru Yamamori, “United Kingdom: Labour Party considers universal basic income”, Basic Income News, February 21st 2016
Kate MacFarland, “UK: Labour Leader to Investigate Universal Basic Income“, Basic Income News, September 15th 2016
Genevieve Shanahan, “UK: Labour Party sets up working group to investigate UBI”, Basic Income News, February 10th 2017
More information at:
Sonia Sodha, ‘UBI is no panacea for us – and Labour shouldn’t back it’, The Guardian, 18th December 2017.
by Toru Yamamori | Jul 26, 2017 | News
NHK, Japan’s largest broadcasting organization, is going to air a short program on UBI. The program will be broadcasted around 7.20 am during their morning news program called ‘Ohayo Nippon (Good morning Japan)’.
The program is based on a director’s recent visit to Finland and his interview of professor Toru Yamamori, a member of BIEN.
TV Asahi, another national TV network, also had a short program on UBI on 13th July. In a program that focused on economic policies alternative to the current governmental economic policy called ‘Abenomics’, Toru Tamakawa, an anchor of the program, visited two economics professors. Professor Eisaku Ide proposed a Swedish style social and economic policy, while professor Toru Yamamori introduced an idea of UBI.
Reviewed by Kate McFarland
by Toru Yamamori | Jun 9, 2017 | News
Ping Xu from UBI Taiwan has disclosed that a Basic Income pilot project is under discussion.
Xu made her remarks at her talks at Doshisha University on 21 April and at Kyoto Basic Income Weekend event during 22 and 23 April.
UBI Taiwan is laying the groundwork for a potential pilot program, although discussions are at an early stage and no determination or funding has been confirmed as of June. According to Tyler Prochazka from UBI Taiwan:
• UBI Taiwan has met with the Taichung Social Affairs Bureau to discuss a potential pilot project.
• UBI Taiwan has met with village chiefs, NGOs, and other relevant authorities to begin preparing the framework for the potential pilot program. The organization is looking at several locations in Taiwan to determine viability of the project.
• Currently, there is no funding for the pilot program. Preliminary research is being completed to create a framework for the project if funding is made available.
• UBI Taiwan will complete a comprehensive pilot program proposal by August 2017 to present to relevant authorities. The proposal will be crafted in coordination with international experts and local experts in Taiwan.
• UBI Taiwan is working with Academia Sinica to collect the first national polling of Taiwanese attitudes toward UBI.
Further updates on UBI Taiwan’s progress will be disclosed throughout the summer. In July, UBI Taiwan will begin its Summer Fellowship program, working with students to complete the preliminary research for the pilot program and increase awareness of basic income.
Reviewed by Russell Ingram
Photo CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Chen Tao Liao
by Toru Yamamori | May 15, 2017 | News
Rutger Bregman’s Utopia for Realists is translated to Japanese. Marking the publication, Bregman is coming to Japan and giving a talk. He will speak in English with a simultaneous translation to Japanese.
Date: 16 May 2016
Time: 19:00-20:30
Veneu: Kyoseikan 4th Floor, Hiyoshi Campus, Keio University, Yokohama.
The detail of the event can be found here (in Japanese).
Credit Picture CC Fougerouse Aenaud
