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.
OPINION: On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Basic Income – A Struggle for Values
Today, January 20th, is recognized annually in the U.S. as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. If still alive, Reverend King, Jr. would have celebrated his 85th birthday five days ago. Yet in so many ways this monumental man remains with us, in words, imagery and most of all, wisdom and inspiration.
OPINION: The Liberal Case for a Basic Income
Max Sawicky’s post on the liberal case against a universal basic income (UBI) characterizes the rationale for UBI as poverty elimination at low overhead cost. While he’s right that this is one of UBI’s benefits, he misses its much larger goal. What distinguishes UBI from the anti-poverty programs we already have in the US is that it eliminates poverty through redistribution that is explicitly unconditional and universal—it goes to everyone, whether or not they work or are looking for work. Low overhead costs are simply a bonus of abandoning the means-testing and monitoring of work effort that are the foundation of all the programs Sawicky wants to expand.
OPINION: A Suggestion for All
By Marina Pasetto Nóbrega. We read the recent article by Philippe Van Parijs suggesting a Euro-dividend for all in the EU. That would represent about 200 Euros monthly to each and everyone, unconditionally. And, he points out, this minimum basic income or citizen's...
Malcolm Torry, Money for Everyone: Why we need a Citizen’s Income
Malcolm Torry, Money for Everyone: Why we need a Citizen’s Income, Policy Press, 2013, xiv + 300 pp, 1 44731 125 6, pbk, £24.99, 1 44731 124 9, hbk, £70 From the book: The structure of the book Following some notes on terminology and on graphical representation,...
Opinion: Basic Income and the Ukrainian Revolution
To briefly outline what is going on in Ukraine, I would say “we have had enough, we want change.” Although I will have to disappoint all those who expect that basic income is a topic for the current Euromaidan protets in Ukraine, this article is about how basic income could help solve the conflict in Ukraine. First I will state my view based on my experience, and then I will suggest how to solve the conflict and how basic income could be a part of this solution.
Danny Dorling, The No-Nonsense Guide to Equality
Danny Dorling, The No-Nonsense Guide to Equality, New Internationalist, 2012, 176 pp, pbk, 1 78026 071 6, £7.99 Dorling’s egalitarian tract is, as Richard Wilkinson suggests in his foreword, ‘multi-faceted and rich in insights’ (p.7). Throughout the book, countries in...
Alberto Minujin and Shailen Nandy (eds), Global Child Poverty and Well-Being: Measurement, concepts, policy and action
Alberto Minujin and Shailen Nandy (eds), Global Child Poverty and Well-Being: Measurement, concepts, policy and action, Policy Press, 2012, xxxii + 591 pp, pbk, 1 847 42481 5, £28.99, hbk, 1 847 42482 2, £70 In 2006, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the...
Gaby Ramia, Kevin Farnsworth and Zöe Irving (eds), Social Policy Review 25: Analysis and debate in social policy
Gaby Ramia, Kevin Farnsworth and Zöe Irving (eds), Social Policy Review 25: Analysis and debate in social policy, 2013, Policy Press, 2013, xii + 324 pp, hbk, 1 44731 274 1, £70 As Gaby Ramia’s introduction to this twenty-fifth annual collection suggests, the choice...
Kevin Farnsworth, Social Versus Corporate Welfare: Competing Needs and Interests within the Welfare State
Kevin Farnsworth, Social Versus Corporate Welfare: Competing Needs and Interests within the Welfare State, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, xii + 222 pp, hbk, 0 230 27453 2, £55 In this book, ‘corporate welfare' means ‘governments serving the needs of business' (through...
Podcast on Basic Income #8 (13/12/03)
An audio podcast on the lastest news of last week.
CYPRUS: “Guaranteed minimum income” is not a guaranteed minimum income
In July 2013, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades announced the implementation of a “guaranteed minimum income,” but the president’s language was self-contradictory. The program was supposed to be a “guaranteed minimum income,” assuring “a dignified living,...
Clive Lord, Miriam Kennet and Judith Felton (eds), Citizen’s Income and Green Economics
Clive Lord, Miriam Kennet and Judith Felton (eds), Citizen’s Income and Green Economics, The Green Economics Institute, 2012, 339 pp, pbk, 1 907543 07 4, £20 This somewhat passionate book sets off from a classic example of the tragedy of the commons: the story of...
