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.
FOUR OBITUARIES: MILTON FRIEDMAN, ANTONIO MARIA DA SILVEIRA, RICHARD CLEMENTS, AND LEONARD GREENE (from 2006)
This essay was originally published in the USBIG NewsFlash in December 2006. Four basic income advocates died in November 2006. Noble-Laureate Milton Friedman (Nov. 16), Brazilian economist Antonio Maria da Silveira (Nov.21), former director of the Citizens...
Obamacare’s model can solve basic income’s cost issue
One area basic income advocates need to emphasize more is this clawback of basic income.
Korea: Conference held to design basic income experiment
South Korea’s government included an expenditure to design potential models for a basic income experiment into the 2018 budget.
BIG PILOT PROJECT IN NAMIBIA HAS POSITIVE IMPACT (from 2008)
This essay was originally published in the USBIG NewsFlash in October 2008. In January 2008, a Basic Income Grant (BIG) pilot project began in the Otjivero-Omitara area in Namibia. All residents below the age of 60 years receive a Basic Income Grant of 100...
WHAT DOES THE STONE AGE HAVE TO DO WITH US? (from 2008)
This essay was originally published in the USBIG NewsFlash in June 2008. What does the Stone Age have to do with modern justice? According to property rights advocates: everything; their arguments rely on two factual claims that can be enlightened by a look at...
Basic Income Korea Network holds sixth General Assembly
The 6th General Assembly (GA) of Basic Income Korea Network was held in Seoul. The GA is held every January, in which we examine the activities of last year and decide what activities we should carry out in the following year.
UBI’s Impact on Work Culture: Not a Question for the Experimenters
My interest in basic income stemmed from the conjecture that such a policy could help to ignite a progression away from the culture of total work. However, there are many open empirical questions regarding the exact way in which a basic income would (or would not)...
Alternatives to Citizen’s Basic Income
Negative Income Tax, Tax Credits, and Citizen’s Basic Income, all generate the same net income. All three schemes would reduce marginal deduction rates, incentivize employment, and enable families to more easily to earn their way out of poverty.
A BASIC INCOME SUPPORTER’S VIEW OF THE SALES TAX MOVEMENT (from 2008)
This essay was originally published in the USBIG NewsFlash in February 2008. The unexpected success of Mike Huckabee in the Republican primaries has given a substantial boost to the small movement to replace all federal taxes with a national sales tax with an...
‘Me too’ and the basic income guarantee
If we want to empower women in their dealings with abusive employers, a way to do so is to provide them with a source of income they don’t have to sell their labor to receive.
ALASKA’S BIG PARODIED IN THE SIMPSON’S MOVIE (from 2007)
This essay was originally published in the USBIG NewsFlash in November 2007. Public awareness of BIG took a small step forward this summer when the Simpsons Movie made a joke about it. Homer and his family are greeted at the Alaskan border by an official who...
FATHER OF “WORKFARE” IN THE U.S. ENDORSES BIG IN IRAQ (from 2007)
This essay was originally published in the USBIG NewsFlash in April 2007. Republican Presidential Candidate Tommy Thompson has endorsed BIG—at least in a foreign country. On his campaign website, the former Wisconsin Governor calls himself “the reliable...
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