by Peter Knight | Mar 2, 2023 | News
The photo above is ofPresident Aragonès (ERC) next to Salvador Illa (PSC) after ratifying the agreement on the Catalan anual budget. (C) Joan Mateu Parra.
The Spanish UBI Network has elaborated a short manifesto to support the Catalan UBI Pilot plan –which is now under the menace of the Catalan Socialist Party that is trying to withdraw funds for the pilot during the public budgetary negotiations.
The Spanish version of the manifesto has already collected over 700 signatures. The Pilot’s organizers hope the international, English version could collect a large amount, too.
To read the English version and find a link to sign the manifesto (at bottom), click here.
Sign the manifesto directly by filling in your full name / profession and email address at the bottom of the Catalan text by clicking here.
by Peter Knight | Dec 16, 2022 | News
(Photo of Sergi Raventos, the Head of the Office of the Pilot Plan to Implement the Universal Basic Income in Catalonia by Rubén Moreno, Generalitat de Catalunya)
The Universal Basic Income (UBI) pilot plan is one of the projects that the Catalan Government will carry out during this term of office that ends in February 2025.
In the Catalan pilot plan, some 5,000 people will receive the UBI: 2,500 will be randomly selected from all households in Catalonia and the remaining 2,500 will correspond to the population of two municipalities.
During the two years of the pilot, participants will receive a monthly payment of €800 per adult and €300 per child under 18 years of age. Individuals with the 10% highest incomes will be excluded from participating in the pilot, as well as people who have paid the patrimony tax (real estate of more than 500.000 euros). This is because the economic simulations of what an hypothetical basic income policy in Catalonia would look like, stated that the balance between the taxes and the amount of money of the UBI would be negative for the 10-15% highest incomes – they wouldn’t have a net gain with the UBI. That’s why the design excludes them from the pilot. Also excluded are people who have had to pay the patrimony tax so as not to include people without labour income (who would be eligible) but have enormous wealth in properties (living off investments, rents, etc.).
All persons who, once the random selection by addresses and municipalities has been carried out and their selection has been communicated by mail, formalize their willingness to participate by means of the web form, will be considered as participants in the pilot plan.
For more information click here to visit the project’s English language website. A number of well-known BIEN members are on the Scientific Committee supporting the project. Click here to view a presentation on the project with details on its design.
by Peter Knight | Oct 30, 2022 | News
An article by Sigal Samuel entitled “Everywhere basic income has been tried, in one map Which countries have experimented with basic income — and what were the results?” is now available online.
To read the article click here.
by Peter Knight | Oct 28, 2022 | News
In September, 2022, the Economic Security Project (ESP) announced that it had hit a milestone of 100 guaranteed income pilots announced nationwide. See a two-minute video celebrating this achievement here.
In 2017, ESP helped launch pilots in Stockton, CA and Jackson, MS and then open-sourced the playbook and invited others to join the movement. To go from a distant dream to such a large number of pilots did not happen overnight, it took the dedicated work of people committed to this vision.
ESP “advocates for ideas that build economic power for all Americans. We legitimize bold ideas by supporting cutting edge research and elevating champions, win concrete policy victories for the communities that need to see change now, and provoke the conventional wisdom to shift what’s considered possible. Our team of academics, organizers, practitioners and culture makers disburse grants, run issue campaigns, develop creative interventions and research products, and convene to encourage investment and action from others.”
by Peter Knight | Oct 9, 2022 | Events, News
The 2022 Guaranteed Income Now summit was an opportunity to mark the movement’s recent progress — there are now officially 100 mayors who have joined Mayors for a Guaranteed Income and 100 pilots announced in the United States.
The 2-day summit in Atlanta brought together pilots, policymakers, researchers and more. This event was about getting inspired and recognizing the work that the US Income Movement community has been doing, Check out the clip below featuring Mayor Melvin Carter, the mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota.
On the pilot side, an exciting new tool debuted during the summit: Stanford Basic Income Lab’s Guaranteed Income Pilots Dashboard. This dashboard was designed to visualize data from 30+ guaranteed income pilots across the United States. It also includes testimonies from participants, which shed light on ways in which unconditional cash is giving people the freedom to build financial security and change their own lives for the better. Explore the dashboard here.
