A Basic Income is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.
The Royal Society of Arts Explains: [2 minutes]
BIEN Congresses
The 24th BIEN CONGRESS in Maricá & Niterói – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 27-29 August 2025
Linkedin, Instagram, X – biencongress25 (at) gmail [dot] com
BIEN2024 was August 29–31 (Pictures and more coming soon)
Recent News, Opinion, and Research
Paul Solman, “Idea of paying citizens a yearly stipend is gaining support in Switzerland.”
[Ginny Holbert] SUMMARY: The U.S. Public Broadcasting System has run a 9-minute piece on Basic Income in its show News Hour. The “Making Sense” economics correspondent reports on the Swiss basic income referendum and explains that the idea is gaining traction across...
Mike Treen, “Why the Labour movement should support a Universal Basic Income.”
Mike Treen, “Why the Labour movement should support a Universal Basic Income.” The Daily Blog [New Zealand].” April 18, 2014 Reposted as: Mike Treen. “Why support a Universal Basic Income.” United News, April 19, 2014. Mike Treen. “Why support a Universal Basic...
AUSTRALIA: Pirate Party Considers Basic Income
Australia’s Pirate Party is considering adopting basic income as part of its tax platform, policy development documents posted online suggest. The draft framework proposes that the basic income could be delivered through the introduction of a negative income tax....
Bill Jordan, “Free money is no longer the stuff of utopia.”
SUMMARY: Bill Jordan makes the case for a global Basic Income, an idea that has finally come of age. He writes, “For 40 years now I have been advocating for an unconditional Basic Income (BI) – a regular state payment to each citizen of the affluent societies,...
UNITED STATES: CNN and The Blaze duel over Basic Income.
The growing debate on basic income has reached CNN this week and prompted a response in the Blaze (the libertarian-conservative news network founded by talk radio personality, Glenn Beck). On April 14, David R. Wheeler praised basic income. The article prompted more...
Antony Davies & James Harrigan, “Sorry CNN and David Wheeler, but a ‘Basic Income’ Wouldn’t End Poverty.”
Antony Davies & James Harrigan, “Sorry CNN and David Wheeler, but a ‘Basic Income’ Wouldn’t End Poverty.” The Blaze. April 16, 2014
David R. Wheeler, “What if the government guaranteed you an income?”
SUMMARY: This article has received more than 10,000 comments in the first three days since it was Posted. The author, David R. Wheeler, argues that the basic income guarantee is a simple solution to unemployment and underemployment, that it is cheaper than our current...
OPINION: Facebook’s Purchase of Oculus is the New Best Example of 21st Century Inequality and the Need for Unconditional Basic Income
The purchase of Oculus by Facebook for $2 billion is the new best example of the growing inequality inherent in 21st century capitalism – what Paul Mason describes as the The Fourth Wave. A few people just got really rich, while the thousands of people who helped build the company from nothing, through $2.5 million of crowdsourced capital and a thriving open-source developer community didn’t.
Hendrik vom Lehn, “Why we don’t have a basic income yet (and how to get there)”
Hendrik vom Lehn, “Why we don’t have a basic income yet (and how to get there),” Hentrik.vomlehn.de, March 9, 2014.
Hendrik vom Lehn, “Why we should (re-)consider a basic income.”
Hendrik vom Lehn, “Why we should (re-)consider a basic income.” Hentrik.vomlehn.de, March 5, 2014.
Dorotea Mar, “Basic Income is the life-saving boat of a sinking global economy: Interview with Andrey “Boby” Angelov.”
Dorothea Mar conducted this interview with Andrey “Boby” Angelov, the Content Creator for the Bulgarian Facebook page about the European Citizens’ Initiative for Unconditional Basic Income on the 17 January 2014, after the very successful campaign by Bulgaria Basic...
Karl Widerquist, “The Basic Income Grant as Social Safety Net for Namibia: Experience and lessons from around the world”
ABSTRACT: This paper discusses strategies for providing a social safety net and argues that the Basic Income Grant (BIG) is the best way forward for Namibia. BIG is a regular, unconditional income given to all individuals as a right of citizenship. This paper draws on...