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.
Book review: ‘Could a Citizen’s Income work?’
Donald Hirsch, ‘Could a Citizen’s Income work?’ A paper commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation as part of its Minimum Income Standard programme, and published in March 2015. www.jrf.org.uk/publications/could-citizens-income-work The Citizen’s Income Newsletter...
Report from London Futurists’ event
The Case For Universal Basic Income, 14th February 2015 What will be the impact of technological change on society? We are often told that people whose jobs are automated will simply retrain and find work in new occupations, the same way farmers became factory workers...
A Basic Income Women Action Group Statement
April 28, 2015 A Basic Income Women Action Group Statement Prepared by Liane Gale, Ann Withorn and Kristine Osbakken Inspired by conversations and presentations at the 2015 North American Basic Income Guarantee Congress in NYC The broad goal of the group is to...
OPINION: Basic Income Day is a Great Idea, and Especially on May Day!
In a recent opinion piece published here on May 2nd, Jurgen De Wispelaere made a case for the need to change Basic Income Day to a date other than May 1st. As the organizer of the Reddit Basic Income community’s involvement in promoting Basic Income Day for the past...
Basic Income Day is a great idea, but not on May Day!
Basic income activists around the world are doing a great job (sic!) putting the idea of granting each individual an unconditional guaranteed income at the frontlines of policy proposals to combat poverty, social exclusion and economic inequality. A basic income is...
Viewpoint: An Unconditional Citizen’s Income
In these straitened times, the idea of a basic income, granted unconditionally to every citizen, from cradle to grave, feels utopian. How on earth could it be paid for, we wonder. Wouldn't everyone just stop working? Where would we be then? I first came across it, in...
Alaska’s Budget Deficit is Political Threat to its Basic Income
Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend is the closest thing to a Basic Income that exists in the world today. It gives every U.S. Citizen who fills out a form verifying Alaska residency a check for a share of the revenue from the Alaska Permanent Fund each year. The fund...
US Budget under BIG
Introduction. This budget assumes public finance all levels combined, and no change in overall tax income, which is currently 4131 billion $. Today, no more than 8% of the population is required to produce all agricultural products, industrial products and buildings...
Unconditional Basic Income: Obstacles and Strategies
Have you ever thought of a Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) for absolutely everyone? The 14th USBIG Congress held in conjunction with Canada BIG was just held in Manhattan, and a friend with frequent flyer miles got me there. Presenters from across the globe shared...
OPINION: Reclaiming the Women’s Liberationist Demand for a Citizen’s Income
Thanks to the Green Party of England and Wales, and the Scottish Green Party, a Citizen’s Income, a.k.a. a Basic Income, is now on the political agenda for the general election on 7th May 2015 in the U.K. This has expanded British media coverage on the topic...
Review of “Debt: The First 5,000 Years,” by David Graeber
Debt: The First 5,000 Years, by David Graeber (New York: Melville House, 2011). Review by Brent Ranalli Most histories of money are histories of coins, tokens. But coins come and go with empires. Money has much deeper roots in the forms of obligation that bind...
Scott Santens, “What to do about drug users who get basic incomes?”
Scott Santens, ““What to do about drug users who get basic incomes?” www.scottsantens.com March 27, 2015.
