A Refundable Tax Credit Scheme for Low-Income Earners under Consideration by the Government Discussions on the reform of Japan’s tax system are currently gaining momentum. They are to be considered within the framework of the recovery efforts from the great disaster of March 2011, and take place under the policy of “integrated reform of social security and tax system” of
» Read moreThomas Paine and many other libertarians concerned with fundamental human rights, dreamt of the day when no one would suffer from want and basic income security should be garanteed to all. The Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) promotes the idea among all countries. In Brazil, Senator Eduardo M. Suplicy has been the champion for the basic income, here called “Renda
» Read moreI graduated in Social Work in 1964 and back then, in Australia, we were three quarters of the way through the 23 years of unbroken conservative rule. The prevailing welfare ideology of the time was heavily influenced by the combination of providing assistance to those ‘in need’ whilst sifting out ‘malingers’ and others who could but wouldn’t work. There was
» Read moreAlmost a half year has passed after the Great Earth Quake and Tsunami on March 11 in East Japan which jointly victimized nearly 16,000 people’s lives, made around 4,600 people missing, destroyed a large number of houses and facilities, and induced the nuclear power-plant accidents in Fukushima. The 3 prefectures (Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima) in the Pacific coast district of
» Read moreJapan’s social security system until now has been dependent on support from corporations and employers. Due to Japan’s present economic circumstances, however, they have become unable to endure such burdens any more. Basically, the aim of private corporations is to earn profits from their businesses and pay taxes from the profits. They are not intended to play the role of
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I write a lot about the Basic Income Guarantee (BIG)—about its labor-market effects, its use as cushion against instability, and so. In this essay I want to explain in simple terms why I believe it is so worth talking about.
» Read moreThe coalition government of Mongolia is taking steps to make good on promises made in the 2008 election to introduce an Alaska-style resource dividend. Mongolia is a large, sparsely populated land-locked country sandwiched between Russian and China. About half of its citizens still live as nomadic herders. Most of the land in the country is unowned: herders can camp anywhere
» Read moreAnniversaries are poignant human moments, points on a journey, never an end in themselves. Twenty-five years ago, on September 4-6, 1986, a small group of us held a workshop on basic income, and on September 6 decided to set up a network, BIEN. The memory is blurred; the documentation is scattered. However, this 25th anniversary is a testament to several aspects of BIEN, and it is perhaps acceptable to reflect on the journey so far.
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Guy Standing details the features of two pilot projects schemes set to start soon in rural India.
» Read moreThere is a growing gap between rich and poor in Canada. Poverty and excessive income disparity harms everyone not just the very poor. For ethical and prudential reasons, Canadian policymakers should consider policy options that provide a basic income to all citizens as a means of ameliorating poverty and its deleterious effects.
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