by Josh Martin | Jul 15, 2014 | Research
[Josh Martin]
The author of this post begins by highlighting the issues with the current benefits system in the UK: it is too confusing, too complex, and too inefficient. Further, the recent emphasis on employment as the best route out of poverty has proven false. Research has shown that even full-time work cannot guarantee one’s financial well-being. The author then shows why the recently created Universal Credit will fail and why the ideal benefits system is a negative income tax that establishes a guaranteed minimum income (much like a basic income). This system will save the government money and will help ease the transition into an even more technological economy.
The Conversative, “Should the Conservative Party adopt a Negative Income Tax?”, The ConVersative, 7 July 2014.
Negative Income Tax Scenarios (Credit: The ConVersative)
by Josh Martin | Jul 14, 2014 | Research
[Josh Martin]
In this post, Vognar jumps into a discussion on government guarantees, claiming that a minimum income guarantee like a universal basic income would be less heavy-handed than a job guarantee or other types of guarantees. An income floor would provide stability in the lives of those in poverty and would allow low-income workers to break away from unfair labor agreements with their employers. Vognar cites Martin Luther King Jr. and Charles Murray as ideologically opposed thinkers who both agree on supporting a minimum income; Vognar then goes on to claim that implementing a guaranteed minimum income will unleash a new wave of innovation and creativity in our individual passions that had been stifled by the current nine-to-five labor market structure.
David Vognar, “The Case for a Guaranteed Minimum Income”, Huffington Post, 8 July 2014
by Josh Martin | Jul 11, 2014 | Research
[Josh Martin]
In this opinion piece, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences James Hansen of Columbia University discusses climate action in the United States. In his post he throws his support behind the Citizens Climate Lobby’s (CCL) recent proposal for a carbon fee-and-dividend proposal with 100% of the revenue going towards a dividend equally distributed to each citizen, culminating in a variant of an unconditional basic income.
For more information on the CCL’s proposal, click here.
James Hansen, “Too Little, Too Late? Oops?” Available on James Hansen’s university page, 19 June 2014.
Professor James Hansen of Columbia University (Source: Wikipedia)
by Craig Axford | Jul 9, 2014 | Research
BIG case studies from rural India demonstrate it works.
[Craig Axford]
A basic income guarantee has had transformative effects on the lives of many in rural India, providing evidence of just how powerful an anti-poverty tool BIG can be.
Stuart Weir, “Basic Income: transforming lives in rural India”, Open India: India and Beyond, June 20, 2014
by Craig Axford | Jul 8, 2014 | Research
Alejandro Higuera Osuna , the mayor of Mazatlán, Mexico, and his wife, the city's family assistance director Juana Guillermina Higuera Avila, provide food boxes to a woman.
[Craig Axford]
A study looking into Mexico’s Programa de Apoyo Alimentario food aid program finds that giving those in need food is more costly and no more effective than simply giving people direct financial aid and allowing them to buy food on their own. In addition to using the money to buy food as intended, direct assistance reduces the cost of the program by nearly 20% compared to the traditional food distribution system. This finding adds to the growing body of research showing people spend unconditional assistance responsibly, contrary to what many BIG opponents claim.
Dylan Matthews, “Mexico tried giving poor people cash instead of food. It worked.”, Vox, June 26, 2014
by Craig Axford | Jul 8, 2014 | Research
Maybe Detroit could use a little BIG (Image: The Huffington Post)
[Craig Axford]
The author of this blog suggests the City of Detroit should select around 1,000 individuals living within the same area, offer them $400 a month without any strings attached, improve basic services such as internet access, and then see what happens to their community.
Albert Wenger, “A Basic Income Experiment I would Like To See (Detroit)”, Continuations, June 24, 2014
