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.
Ukraine’s Basic Income: an antidote to war
The idea of Basic Income is catching on around the world as it is getting more and more support, especially after cash payments many countries paid during the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine. A Basic Income is a...
Singapore needs a basic income
Which country in the world arguably needs a Basic Income most? Singapore, because she has the highest reserves per capita in the world, is in the top five for per capita income in the world, the fifth most expensive city in the world (The Economist) - and yet...
Poem: Turn on the tap
14.5 million living in poverty in the world’s fifth largest economy until a global pandemic forced our chancellor to spend £69 billion on a word none of us had ever heard of. Furlough showed universal basic income to be a fundable possibility, at £67 billion net cost...
A Systemic Ecosystem for Socio-Economic Development (SESED)
Universal Basic Income (UBI) takes care of sustenance needs, and SESED (Figure 1), can complement UBI to achieve poverty alleviation. This will be through a small business enterprise, whose success is facilitated by SESED given the peace of mind that UBI provides....
Basic Income Takes a Hit in Korea
On March 9, South Korea took to the polls for the 2022 Presidential Election. Former governor of Gyeonggi province, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party lost by a narrow margin of less than 0.7% to Yoon Suk-yeol from the People Power Party. This election...
This South Korean Presidential Election is Vital
There are rare moments when a combination of threatening circumstances leads to a wonderful transformation that only a short time before would have been unimaginable. This year may be such a moment. The Republic of Korea could set an example to the world that would...
Marc de Basquiat’s The Basic Income Engineer
In The Basic Income Engineer (not yet available in English, unfortunately), Marc de Basquiat invites us to embark upon a journey of discovery on the subject of Basic Income. Each chapter draws on a personal experience to illustrate his point and marks a milestone in...
Marc de Basquiat L’ingénieur du revenu universel
Dans L’ingénieur du revenu universel, c’est à un voyage de découverte que Marc de Basquiat nous convie sur le sujet du revenu de base. Chaque chapitre part d’une expérience personnelle pour illustrer son propos et marque un jalon dans son développement intellectuel....
Polls Indicate Support For Basic Income Increased From 8-to-1 Against to 3-to-1 in Favor Between 2011 to 2021
Two polls conducted in 2021 both found that a substantial majority of Americans now support Universal Basic Income (UBI) or some form of Guaranteed Income. One survey, conducted by Data for Progress, found that 55% of Americans support UBI while 39% oppose it. Another...
The Essential Reason I Support UBI
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This article is a draft of the first chapter of the book I'm working on: Universal Basic Income: Essential Knowledge. It can also be thought of as a reply to Bitch Bastardly's guest article from last week. Comments welcome: Karl@widerquist.com....
A Simple Solution to End the Labor Shortage in Five Minutes
By Guest Blogger, Bitch Bastardly Workers aren’t working for the wages we’re offering as much as they used to. Five million fewer Americans are working now than were working in June of 2019. That’s 3.33% of the U.S. labor force—a shortage! Think about what that means:...
A luta continua: A Memorable Day for Eduardo and BIEN
The ancient Greeks had three Gods of Time, and on the auspicious occasion of the 80th birthday of one of our most loyal and outstanding BIEN members, it is a delight to be able to congratulate Eduardo Suplicy, and to say that he defies one of those Gods, Chronos,...