BIEN | Opinion

Opinion Posts

Here you will find articles expressing opinions about current issues in the Basic Income debate. Opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of BIEN.

Fox News Praises the Alaska Model (from 2012)

May 23, 2018 | Opinion, The Indepentarian

This essay was originally published on Basic Income News in August 2012. Last February two conservative commentators, Bill O’Reilly and Lou Dobbs, from the Fox News Network, praised the Alaska Dividend as “a perfect Model” of what America should be doing with...

Economic Security for All: Questions about Chris Hughes’ Guaranteed Income Proposal

May 18, 2018 | Opinion

Hughes advocates what he calls a guaranteed income (GI) and is clear about how his proposal differs from a universal basic income (UBI). A UBI would periodically provide everyone with a certain amount of money without any means-test or work requirement. Hughes’ guaranteed income proposal has two provisions which distinguish it from a UBI: it is means-tested and it does have a work requirement.

Karl Widerquist’s Speaking Engagements Summer-Fall 2018

May 17, 2018 | Opinion, The Indepentarian

This summer and fall I'll give at least ten talks in seven cities in six countries including the United States, Canada, France, Scotland, Finland, and Lithuania. Here's the information I have on each talk so far: Friday, May 18, to Sunday, May 20, 2018, keynote...

How Alaska Can Avoid the Third Stage of the Resource Curse (from 2012)

May 16, 2018 | Opinion, The Indepentarian

This essay was originally published on Basic Income News in February 2012. The resource curse, as I see it, comes in three different forms. Alaska has avoided the first two, but whether it avoids the third remains to be seen. The first-stage resource curse occurs when...

No Time for Austerity (from 2011)

May 9, 2018 | Opinion, The Indepentarian

This essay was originally published on Basic Income News in December 2011. I can’t believe the news. We are in the midst of the worst global depression in 70 years, and the governments of almost every major industrialized country are talking about austerity. They’re...

President Obama Receives BIEN Letter Through Senator Suplicy (from 2011)

May 2, 2018 | Opinion, The Indepentarian

This essay was originally published on Basic Income News in May 2011. In March 2011, Brazilian Senator (and tireless campaigner for BIG), Eduardo Suplicy told me and other members of the USBIG and BIEN Committees that he would soon be meeting with President...

Interview: UBI and ‘Job Culture’ (Part Two)

Apr 30, 2018 | Opinion

Kate McFarland interviews D. JoAnne Swanson of The Anticareerist, discussing how Universal Basic Income may help address compulsory wage labor.

Interview: UBI and ‘Job Culture’ (Part One)

Apr 27, 2018 | Opinion

Kate McFarland interviews D. JoAnne Swanson of The Anticareerist, discussing how Universal Basic Income may help address compulsory wage labor.

IS BIG WORTH TALKING ABOUT IN THE UNITED STATES TODAY? (from 2010)

Apr 25, 2018 | Opinion, The Indepentarian

This essay was originally published in the USBIG NewsFlash in October 2010. The political climate in the United States has gotten increasingly unfriendly toward the Basic Income Guarantee (BIG). Since 1990s, Democrats and Republicans have agreed that any politically...

Interview: Applying basic income in an Asian context

Apr 23, 2018 | Opinion

The Basic Income Asia Pacific 2018 conference held in Taipei this March featured a host of speakers from around the world, including Davala. Davala spoke about his research and the applicability of basic income to Asia.

MONGOLIA: Thousands of protesters demand Alaska-style dividend (from 2010)

Apr 18, 2018 | Opinion, The Indepentarian

This essay was originally published in the USBIG NewsFlash in April 2010. The Associated Press has been reporting that more than 5,000 and perhaps as many as 10,000 Mongolians have been protesting for a resource dividend. Mongolia is a poor nation,...