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]
Recent News, Opinion, and Research
Billionaire backlash shows the power of basic income
"Last month, the US state of Iowa enacted a law banning local governments from adopting basic income programmes. This follows similar developments in Arkansas, Idaho, and South Dakota. In Texas, after lawmakers failed to get their own such law adopted, the state’s...
What can be learned from Australia’s natural experiment with basic income during COVID-19?
Photo by Amber Weir on Unsplash Abstract: "The COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread social and economic policy experimentation as governments sought to protect household finances while locking down economies. Cash transfers emerged as one of the most popular policy...
An article to better inform the debate about the amount of UBI
Because Elon Musk has decided to start talking about a concept he refers to as "universal high income" as being different and seemingly better than universal basic income, I feel the need to set the record straight here. Simply put, universal high income is a...
Basic Income for the Arts in Ireland – What have We Learned after 20 months?
This is to announce the fourth in a special series of discussions dedicated to reflecting on what we can learn from the Irish Basic Income for the Arts Pilot Scheme, as it unfolds.The Government of Ireland is running a Basic Income pilot that began in September 2022....
We’ll need universal basic income – AI ‘godfather’
Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash "The computer scientist regarded as the “godfather of artificial intelligence” says the government will have to establish a universal basic income to deal with the impact of AI on inequality. Professor Geoffrey Hinton told...
Emergency basic income: Distraction or Opportunity – May 16th at 4pm
Jurgen De Wispelaere and Francesca Bastagli will explore the implications of Emergency Basic Income (EBI) for social protection systems and its relationship to Universal Basic Income (UBI). They will examine whether EBI can be integrated into existing programs,...
11 U.S. states with guaranteed basic-income programs
Photo by Ioann-Mark Kuznietsov on Unsplash Note: These pilot programs do not meet BIEN's definition of basic income. "Ingrid Sullivan, 48, used her cash from the San Antonio guaranteed basic-income program to rent a home where her grandchildren can play in the yard....
Free cash programs spread in the United States
"Across the country, city-led guaranteed income programs are delivering unrestricted payments to struggling households, including those ineligible for other aid. Conservative critics are pushing back. By J.J. McCorvey Just weeks after Kiki Ramos received her first...
New video on UBI and the cost of living crisis in the UK
Neil Howard has just published a new video on UBI and the cost of living crisis, that the Green Party in the UK have also shared a version of. You can see the video here and on social media here.
Emergency basic income: Distraction or opportunity
"This themed issue, guest-edited by Jurgen De Wispelaere and Troy Henderson, is devoted to examining, first, whether the widespread use of immediate and unconditional cash transfers as a policy response to the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis has provided...
Money as Medicine – New England Journal of Medicine
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash An article by Eric Reinhart, M.D. has been published this month. Teaser: "What the expanded child tax credit essentially did, at a cost of $128 billion over 1 year (less than 2% of the federal budget, 3% of 2023 U.S. health care...
Call for Papers: FRIBIS Annual Conference 2024: Towards the Development of a Full UBI?
"The FRIBIS Annual Conference 2024 focuses on partial basic income models and their implementation into various welfare systems. By examining feasible designs of partial basic income, the conference aims to identify ways to advocate for the idea of an unconditional...