by Stanislas Jourdan | Jul 9, 2015 | News
Announcements from Finland and the Netherlands on the launch of basic income pilots are making ripples across Europe. In France, the Southern Region of Aquitaine might well be the next place where experiments are conducted to assess the viability of basic income.
Last Monday, July 6th, the regional Council based in Bordeaux voted through a motion marking the start of a process towards running basic income pilots in the region.
Despite a heated debate before the vote, the motion proposed by Green Council member Martine Alcorta was passed unanimously. In fact, several political groups opposed the motion, but decided to abstain when it came to a vote (see the video of the plenary here).
The president of the Council, Alain Rousset in particular rejected the proposal, which he believes is “against the work ethic”. But in the end he also stated he “could not oppose generosity”.
The motion was obviously supported by the Greens, but also with enthusiasm by the radical left coalition “Aquitaine Région Citoyenne” and by one right-wing member and deputy mayor of the city of Bordeaux, who explained her position to the online newspaper Rue89:
« I have always been in favour of the thinking around basic income. Many people don’t get by despite the number of benefits and social assistance schemes. We have to simplify everything: both administrative procedures for citizens and the workload for social workers.
Basic income is not an incentive not to work. On the contrary, it reveals people’s capacities once freed from pressures. We have to launch new experiments with a new spirit. We need new proposals, new models from what currently exist, and to think of a new system. »
So far, the adopted motion only commits the Council to start a call for projects to assess the feasibility of basic income pilots in the region. Under french law, such pilots could only be conducted under the direction of a voluntary department (sub-sections of regions in France), with the agreement of the government. The region would only provide financial support.
The initiator of the motion suggests that the pilots should be based on a proposal drafted last March by BIEN’s Affiliate, the French Movement for Basic Income, to reform the existing means-tested minimum income in France, the “Active Solidarity Income” (RSA). Under this proposal, the RSA would be automatically distributed with no work requirement and along with a taxation system more friendly towards part-time workers.
The current system suffers from many flaws. It is complex, discriminatory, household-based, and moreover it discourages people from pursuing paid work – or encourages them to instead pursue undeclared work – because of its threshold effects. Because of this, the RSA is neglected by the very people who need it. The take-up of RSA is only just over 50% of those eligible.
The proposal being pushed forward is certainly not a perfectly unconditional basic income, but it would constitute a solid step in that direction.
“This is a unique and unprecedented decision in France,” said Green local representative Marc Morisset. The Green Party of France has officially supported basic income since November 2013. Its members have been increasingly active in the promotion of the idea. Last February, another Green regional council member in Rhone-Alpes made a similar proposal, but unsuccessfully.
After this historic vote, the next step will be to finance a feasibility study, find a voluntary department and locate possible areas for experiment.
by Karl Widerquist | May 15, 2015 | News
A Panel discussion entitled, “Has the Time Come for Universal Basic Income?” will take place at Civic Hall, New York, NY on May 26, 2015 at 6:30 pm for a conversation on the prospects for universal basic income with speakers who have been engaged in the topic.
The Panel Includes:
Peter Barnes is a co-founder of Working Assets/CREDO, a social entrepreneur, and the author of several books. His With Liberty and Dividends for All explains how a form of universal basi
c income, modeled on the Alaska Permanent Fund, could provide living wage while helping to prevent catastrophic climate changeNatalie Foster is a fellow at Institute for the Future and co-founder of
Peers.org. Before that she was CEO of Rebuild the Dream and led the digital work of Organizing for America, the Sierra Club, and
MoveOn.org.
-From “Has the Time Come for Universal Basic Income?”
Michael Lewis is a professor at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College in New York City, where he has studied the possible impacts of universal basic income schemes on the economy and the environment. He is a member of the coordinating committee of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network.
Nathan Schneider has reported on universal basic income proposals in tech culture for Vice magazine and is a longtime chronicler of social movements. His most recent book is Thank You, Anarchy: Notes from the Occupy Apocalypse.
Event: “Has the Time Come for Universal Basic Income?”
Time: Tuesday, May 26, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Place: Civic Hall, West 20th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues
by Josh Martin | Mar 16, 2015 | Research
Drover, Moscovitch, and Mulvale write on behalf of the Canadian Association of Social Workers to share their concerns about the direction of Canadian social policy. They fear that it has become too decentralized, potentially harming health care, social inclusion, and social protection. Their policy recommendations to promote pan-Canadian equity are a national basic income scheme, continued funding of the Canada Social Transfer, and to continue to fund the health system, among other policy recommendations.
This may be the first time a national professional organization in Canada has advocated a basic income, and Jim Mulvale is Vice-Chair of the Basic Income Canada Network.
Glenn Drover, Allan Moscovitch, and Jim Mulvale, “Promoting Equity for a Stronger Canada: The Future of Canadian Social Policy”, Canadian Association of Social Workers, 22 May 2014.
by Karl Widerquist | Feb 9, 2015 | News
The Fourteenth Annual North American Basic Income Guarantee Congress (a joint even of U.S. and Canadian Basic Income networks) will take place in New York City Thursday, February 26 – Sunday March 1, 2015.
Most events will be held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Economic Association (EEA) at the New York Sheraton Hotel and Towers. The Congress will also involve free events including a public discussion Thursday, February 26 and a political movement meeting at the Brooklyn Commons on Sunday March 1.
Featured speakers at the conference include Marshall Brain, futurist and author of How Stuff Works and Manna; Peter Barnes, environmentalist and author of Who Owns the Sky?, With Liberty and Dividends For All, and Capitalism 3.0; Ann Withorn, welfare rights activist and Professor Emeritus, University of Massachusetts Boston, author of Serving the People: Social Services and Social Change and co-editor of For Crying out Loud: Women and Poverty in the U.S.; Jim Mulvale, Dean of the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba and Vice-Chairperson of the Basic Income Canadian Network (BICN/RCRG), Mary Bricker Jenkins, Professor of Social Work, Temple University, and US Welfare Rights Union leaders, and forty other speakers.
Event Calendar:
Thursday, February 26, 2015
6:30pm to 9pm: Public Discussion: “New Possibilities for the Basic Income Movement”
Location to be announced
Friday, February 27, 2015
8am to 7pm: Sessions at the Sheraton Hotel, 811 7th Avenue, New York, NY
Evening: social event to be announced
Saturday, February 28, 2015
8am to 6:30pm: Sessions at the Sheraton Hotel, 811 7th Avenue, New York, NY
Evening: social event to be announced
Sunday, March 1, 2015
8am to 12:30pm: Sessions at the Sheraton Hotel, 811 7th Avenue, New York, NY
12:45-m-2:15: Lunch meeting: organizational meeting of the USBIG Network
6:00pm: Meeting: “Are we ready to start an activists movement for BIG in the United States?” We’ll chip in for pizza and drinks, but we’ll share the food and drink unconditionally with everyone who comes—without means test or any requirement to make a reciprocal contribution. We will discuss this question without any more specific agenda. Karl Widerquist will moderate the discussion, but will not lead the discussion or any effort that might come out of it. Location: Brooklyn Commons, 388 Atlantic Ave. Brooklyn, NY. This event is free and open to everyone.
For updated information on featured speakers, registration, and accommodations as more becomes available, visit the USBIG website: www.usbig.net.
Essential information:
Conference dates: Thursday, February 26 – Sunday, March 1, 2015
Locations: New York and Brooklyn, NY: The Sheraton Hotel and Towers, 811 7th Avenue, New York, NY, Hunter College, and the Brooklyn Commons
Organizing committee: Karl Widerquist <Karl@Widerquist.com> (organizer), Ann Withorn <withorn.ann@gmail.com>, Shawn Cassiman <scassiman1@udayton.edu>, and Jurgen De Wispelaere <jurgen.dewispelaere@gmail.com>
Website: USBIG.net.
by BICN | Feb 5, 2015 | News
Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) published their report titled “Promoting Equity for a Stronger Canada: The Future of Canadian Social Policy.” A co-author is Dr. Jim Mulvale, Dean of Social Work at the University of Manitoba and Vice-Chair of Basic Income Canada Network.
Pages 10-22 of the report focus on “income equity” generally and basic income specifically: this section defines basic income, summarizes basic income’s history in Canada, flags key practical matters, discusses costs and the need for federal leadership, and includes CASW’s recommendation “that the federal government initiate a process to review and renew the income security system in Canada with a view to the possibility of developing a targeted and affordable basic income.”
This report provides introductory information on basic income within the Canadian context. CASW’s recommendation may mark the first time a national professional association in Canada has voiced its strong support for basic income.
Glenn Drover, Allan Moscovitch, and James Mulvale, “Promoting Equity for a Stronger Canada: The Future of Canadian Social Policy.” Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW), 2014
