by Josh Martin | Jun 17, 2014 | Research
[Josh Martin]
This post examines the common objection to the basic income that people will spend the cash on alcohol and cigarettes. The article discusses a new paper from the World Bank that found that transfers are not consistently used for alcohol or tobacco.
Dylan Matthews, “More evidence that giving poor people money is a great cure for poverty”, Vox, 7 June 2014.
It turns out that the problem of people not having enough money is solved by giving them more money. (Photo courtesy of GiveDirectly)
by Karl Widerquist | Jun 16, 2014 | Research
Abstract: This article traces present-day policy debates on precarious employment to the nineteenth century. Liberal and paternalist versions of state authority emerged as responses to early capitalist development, and precariousness was an issue that contributed to the differentiation between them. The author argues that these connections with the bases of state power help explain why radical alternative approaches [such as basic income] find it so hard to get a hearing in mainstream political circles.
Bill Jordan, “Authoritarianism and the precariat.” Global Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Current Affairs and Applied Contemporary Thought, Volume 3, Issue 3-4, 2013, pages 388-403
by Josh Martin | Jun 16, 2014 | Research
[Josh Martin]
Coppola dissects issues in the tax credits system in the UK, claiming that it fails to reflect the flexibility of the labor market, especially for self-employed individuals. Coppola then goes on to say that the Universal Credit will not make things any better and that the ideal solution would be a universal basic income.
Frances Coppola, “Hounding the Poor“, Pieria, 30 May 2014.
Source: https://www.pieria.co.uk/articles/hounding_the_poor
by Karl Widerquist | Jun 16, 2014 | Research
SUMMARY: Guy Standing’s book, The Precariat: A New and Dangerous Class, addresses labor market insecurity and argues for basic income as a solution. The journal, Global Discourse, devotes an entire issue to the Precariat. According Matthew Johnson, who was the guest editor of the special issue, “This issue of Global Discourse seeks to explore the nature, shape and context of precariat, evaluating the internal consistency and application of the concept, particularly with regard to: changes in the sociology of class; democracy, participation and representation; the relationship between precariat and multitude; the means by which precariat might become a ‘class-for-itself’; place, migration and globalization; poverty and precarity; the subjective experience of precarity, and forms of resistance. The articles published reflect the extent, both with regard to paradigmatic engagement and site of study, to which the concept has permeated the consciousness of academics and those subject to precariousness (indeed, the former appear increasingly to be included in the latter).”
Matthew Johnson (editor), “Special Issue: The Precariat.” Global Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Current Affairs and Applied Contemporary Thought, Volume 3, Issue 3-4, 2013
by Karl Widerquist | Jun 15, 2014 | Research
Tyler Morning Telegraph’s Editorial Board, “A job is superior to guaranteed income.” Tyler Morning Telegraph [Tyler, Texas], Sunday, 8 June 2014.
by Josh Martin | Jun 15, 2014 | Research
This paper looks at the issue of reparations for group injustice, mainly in the USA, and suggests a basic income guarantee as a possible means of addressing that issue. The need for and legitimacy of such reparations are first established. The author details some personal experience with the issue, which includes encountering frequent resistance to the idea. A basic income guarantee as a means of getting past much of that resistance is then discussed. That is followed by a brief discussion of benefits and limitations. The paper concludes that implementation of a basic income guarantee is the single best way to right the injustices suffered by people due to their inclusion in certain cultural/ethnic groups.
Richa, “A Basic Income Guarantee as Reparations for Group Injustice“, USBIG, December 2009.
