by Yannick Vanderborght | Nov 5, 2010 | Research
PEREIRA, Richard (2009), La sécurité économique au XXIe siècle – Revenu annuel garanti/ allocation universelle. L’impératif écologique, démocratique, de la justice et de la sécurité alimentaire, Master Thesis, Athabasca University (CA), online at:
https://www.progressive-economics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/pereira-fr.pdf
In 2010, Richard Pereira was the Graduate Winner for the “Student Essay Contest” organized by the Canadian Progressive Economics Forum, for a paper entitled “Economic security in the twenty-first century – Guaranteed Annual Income: An ecological, democratic, justice and food security imperative”. The paper is now available in French.
Richard Pereira: rpereira_cda@hotmail.com
by Yannick Vanderborght | Nov 5, 2010 | Research
BARNES, Peter & McKIBBEN, Bill (2009), ‘A Simple Market Mechanism to Clean Up Our Economy’, Solutions for a Sustainable and Desirable Future, 1 (1), 30-38: Jan 14, 2009, online at: https://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/
The problem of global climate change is far more severe and immediate than we understood a few years ago, the authors argue. As the newest scientific data demonstrate, we have a narrow and fast-closing window in which to reduce carbon loads in the atmosphere. In order to do so, two things need to happen: first, the passage of dramatic legislation in the United States so that the largest source of the greenhouse effect begins to clean up its act; second, the subsequent rapid adoption of a powerful international accord that experts currently consider impossible. This will likely require the elimination of coal and tar sands as energy sources. According to Barnes (Senior fellow at the Tomales Bay Institute in Point Reyes Station, California) and McKibben (Founder of the international climate campaign 350.org and scholar in residence at Middlebury College), this paper offers a game-changing political solution: create a trust to manage the sale of a declining number of carbon permits within the U.S., with dividends from the trust distributed equally to all Americans. The dividends would be wired monthly to bank accounts until the country solves its climate crisis. The advantage of this simple, market-based mechanism is that it creates a level playing field for clean technologies, avoids giveaways to industries with political clout, and assures broad, long-term political support for emission reductions. Using the U.S. as a model, world organizations could create a similar international system that would cap carbon globally and distribute revenue to each nation in proportion to its population and developmental needs.
Online at:
https://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/feature_article/2009-01-14-simple-market-mechanism-can-clean-our-economy
by Yannick Vanderborght | Nov 5, 2010 | News
The Socialist Party of Switzerland (2nd party of the country in terms of seats in the Federal House of Representatives) has decided to include basic income in its new long-term platform, a platform which should inspire its action for the next decades. Furthermore, quite independently, one of Switzerland’s main trade-unions, SYNA, has also adopted a resolution asking for the implementation of an “unconditional basic income”.
For further information:
Socialist Party of Switzerland:
https://www.sp-ps.ch/fre
SYNA:
https://www.syna.ch/actualite/message/article/498/oui-au-reven.html
See also the following paper in the daily Le Courrier:
https://www.lecourrier.ch/index.php?name=NewsPaper&file=article&sid=447334
by Yannick Vanderborght | Nov 5, 2010 | News
For a few years, the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) has been actively supporting EU-legislation in favour of a (means-tested) minimum income in all EU member-states. Three Member States currently do not have Minimum Income schemes in place: Greece, Italy, and Hungary. In Sepember 2010, EAPN launched a concrete proposal for an EU framework Directive on “Adequate Minimum Income”. Article 1 of the draft proposal states that “The purpose of this framework directive is to set out minimum requirements and provisions for establishing the right of every person, residing within the territory of the Member States, to an adequate income” According to Article 2, an adequate minimum income is set “at a level that is sufficient to live in a manner compatible with human dignity as a part of a comprehensive and consistent drive to combat social exclusion and to fulfill the basic needs of people to physical health and autonomy, necessary to be able to participate in society”.
On October 20, 2010, the proposal had received support from 262 Members of the European Parliament, from 7 different political groupings, in the European Parliament. “The fact that, at this stage, the proposal received such large support from the Members of the Parliament gives us great encouragement to continue this campaign on Adequate Minimum Income”, said Ludo Horemans, President of EAPN. Within the EU Parliament, pressure in favour of this EU framework Directive came from the socialist and democrat MEPs.
EAPN Campaign: https://www.adequateincome.eu/en
EAPN Website: https://www.eapn.org
Socialists and Democrats on Adequate Minimum Income:
https://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/gpes/public/detail.htm?id=134808&request_locale=EN§ion=NER&category=NEWS
by Yannick Vanderborght | Nov 3, 2010 | News
Four years ago the former Governor of the Free State of Thuringia, Christian-Democrat Dieter Althaus, proposed his concept of Solidarisches Bürgergeld (solidary citizen’s income). The concept is based on an individual and unconditional basic income of EUR 600 per month for every citizen aged 14 or more (and EUR 300 per child paid to the parents), coupled with a basic health insurance voucher of EUR 200 per person, and funded by an income tax of 50% from the first Euro earned (but falling to 25% for higher income slices). This citizen’s income would be administered under the form of a negative income tax. Althaus has set up a commission to evaluate the solidarity citizen’s income:
https://www.insa-online.de/aktuelles/aktuelles.php
