by BIEN | Feb 5, 2017 | News
(Credit to: The American Prospect)
Delphine d’Amora from Mother Jones has offered a brief history of the idea of basic income, tracking its development from the 18th century to its current resurgence with prominent modern advocates, such as Belgian philosophy professor Philippe van Parijs, and various basic income experiments ongoing in a number of countries.
“After decades of obscurity, the idea is suddenly in fashion,” d’Amora notes, “Politicians around the world are interested and a handful of governments, such as Finland and the Canadian province of Ontario, are planning or considering basic-income pilot projects.”
The article is an in-depth, chronological history of basic income, starting with the 18th century, and including various manifestations of the idea, including negative income tax as described by American economist Milton Friedman in an embedded video.
Read the full article here:
Delphine d’Amora, “A Brief History of the Idea That Everyone Should Get Free Cash for Life“, Mother Jones, December 26th 2016
by Austin Douillard | Feb 4, 2017 | News
(Image credit: Basic Income Canada Network)
The Basic Income Canada Network (BICN) has just passed their goal of signing 10,000 people who support a basic income guarantee in Canada.
This milestone marks the culmination of over a year of collecting supporters. BICN now looks toward its next milestone: reaching the 15,000-person threshold.
BICN is a non-profit organization affiliated to BIEN that advocates for basic income in Canada. It does so by publishing regular news stories as well as annual reports about basic income developments. BICN also disseminates resources for getting involved in the struggle for basic income, in addition to educational sources informing about relevant debates and issues. A central part of this organization is its ongoing petition, open to everyone, which calls for the implementation of a basic income in Canada.
BICN’s website was launched in August 2015, when this counter for supporters of basic income began. It has taken BICN almost a year and a half to reach 10,000 supporters, 8,000 of which coming in the last nine months. The 10,000 person threshold was surpassed on December 13th.
This event marks the latest in a series of positive developments for basic income in Canada. Recently, on December 7th, a unanimous decision was reached by the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, Canada, to “pursue a partnership with the federal government for the establishment of a universal basic income pilot project.” Also, in Ontario, the regional government is moving forward with plans to test a universal basic income. These plans began in early 2016, when Ontario tasked Hugh Segal with an outline paper concerning the C$25m pilot project. The project is set to start this spring.
More information at:
Ashifa Kassam, “Ontario pilot project puts universal basic income to the test”, The Guardian, October 28th 2016
by Kate McFarland | Feb 4, 2017 | News
The Government of India has released its 2016-17 Economic Survey, with its eagerly awaited chapter on UBI. The discussion is largely favorable, declaring it time for “serious deliberation” about a UBI for India.
Each year, the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India releases a document called the Economic Survey, which reviews and analyzes developments in the nation’s economy. The Economic Survey is made publicly available (its official website promotes it to “policymakers, economists, policy analysts, business practitioners, government agencies, students, researchers, the media, and all those interested in the development in the Indian economy”), and is presented to the Indian Parliament during its budget session.
Arvind Subramanian CC BY-SA 2.0 PopTech
Last September, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian announced that the 2016-17 Economic Survey would contain a chapter on universal basic income (UBI), making the document hotly anticipated among UBI supporters and others following the movement. (Sensationalized reporting led some early reports to claim, mistakenly, that India was about to launch UBI.)
The 2016-17 Economic Survey, with its 40-page chapter “Universal Basic Income: A Conversation With and Within the Mahatma,” was officially released on January 31, 2017.
Its discussion on UBI is framed around the question of whether Mahatma Gandhi would have endorsed UBI, a question that Subramanian anticipated in comments to an inter-faith prayer meeting last fall. (The main conclusion, presented on the first page, is that he would have been conflicted; a bit more is said in the final section, but I shan’t spoil the ending.)
The tone of the chapter is highly sympathetic to UBI, and the Ministry of Finance calls UBI a “powerful idea whose time even if not ripe for implementation is ripe for serious discussion.”
BIEN co-founder Guy Standing, who conducted basic income pilot studies in India earlier in the decade, was among those who provided input to Indian government for the survey. Standing states,
This is the first major government that has come out with an official favourable report on basic income, and has shown that it is feasible. It recognises the political obstacles and the challenges of rolling it out. We are delighted that the team writing the chapter in the Economic Report have drawn on our basic income pilots in Madhya Pradesh, which are still the biggest such pilots to have been conducted, as shown in our recent book.
In India, UBI has become popular largely as a potential solution to the misallocation, leakages, and corruption in the country’s extensive and complex system of targeted in-kind benefits to the poor. The Economic Survey describes these problems in presenting the argument for UBI in India. In addition, it considers the potential for UBI to promote individual agency. Paid to individuals instead of households, it could be particularly effective in empowering women.
The authors also cite empirical studies to assuage worries that UBI would discourage work or promote the consumption of temptation goods like tobacco, alcohol, and paan.
While the discussion of UBI is largely favorable, the authors acknowledge practical difficulties in implementing the scheme nationwide, including fiscal constraints and resistance to eliminating current programs (most of which, according to the survey, must be eliminated if UBI is to be financially feasible). Additionally, the survey notes that there may be popular resistance to full universality — especially the transferring of money those already well-off. To address the latter issue, it suggests abandoning true universality (“excluding the non-deserving” from receiving the benefit), and proposes several mechanisms to discourage the well-off from accepting UBI payments.
Due to these and other practical difficulties, the chapter favors the introduction of UBI in a gradual manner. It presents three possible starting points: (1) offer an unconditional basic income as an optional alternative to recipients of existing subsidies (with the caveat that this approach would not remedy problems in targeting the poor or allocating money to districts commensurate with need); (2) provide a “UBI for women”; (3) provide a basic income that is “universal” only within certain vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, widows, mothers, or those with disabilities or illnesses.
In all cases, the authors note, effective implementation of the scheme would be hampered by the fact that many poor citizens do not have bank accounts or ready access to banks. Thus, a prerequisite is the full implementation of the Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile (JAM) scheme, which would provide all Indians with a bank account and the ability to receive funds electronically, through a mobile phone.
Read the full chapter here.
Plus a Bonus in Chapter 13…
In addition to including a dedicated chapter on UBI, the Economic Survey broached the idea of a sovereign wealth fund and citizen’s dividend, a type of UBI, in a later chapter titled “The ‘Other Indias’: Two Analytical Narratives (Redistributive and Natural Resources) on States’ Development”.
Goan mines, CC BY 2.0 Abhisek Sarda
The chapter refers to the Goa Iron Ore Permanent Fund, which was created by a Supreme Court order in 2012. The state of Goa, which is rich in mineral deposits, has been plagued with corrupt and controversial mining practices. Under the 2012 court order, a portion of the money received from sales of iron ore must be placed into a permanent fund to preserve for future generations. The Goenchi Mati Movement, whose member Rahul Basu provided input to the Economic Survey, demands an expansion of the fund and the distribution of its revenue in equal cash payments to all Goans.
The Economic Survey states:
One way to increase citizens’ participation is via creation of a dedicated Fund to which all mining revenue must accrue. The assumption here is that minerals are part of the commons, owned by the state as trustee for the people – including future generations. Therefore, the revenue from the natural resources should be saved in a non-wasting asset – in a Permanent Fund. The real income accrued by the Fund can be redistributed to citizens affected by and having a stake in the extraction of the resource.
Basu remarked, “We are happy that the Government of India is also considering implementing the core principles of the Goenchi Mati Movement. We hope the people and the politicians of Goa also keep the use of our natural resources and land at the core of their voting choices for the assembly elections [on February 4, 2017].”
Reviewed by Genevieve Shanahan
by Genevieve Shanahan | Jan 30, 2017 | News
The French Socialist Party has elected a pro-basic income politician, Benoît Hamon, as its candidate for the presidential election this spring.
Benoît Hamon, the left-wing politician who has gained considerable media attention in recent months for his basic income proposal, has won the Socialist Party presidential nomination. He comfortably beat rival and former prime minister Manuel Valls by 58.9% to 41.1%, after his surprise win in the first round.
“Universal basic income is a tool to liberate work, allowing people to actually choose their work and not suffer from it” Hamon declared yesterday in his speech to supporters after his victory was made official.
A centerpiece of Hamon’s campaign has been his universal basic income proposal, which he claims should be introduced step by step:
- Introducing, in 2018, a basic income without means-testing for those between the ages of 18 and 25.
- Raising existing unemployment and underemployment benefits (RSA) to 600 euro a month.
- Instituting a system of automatic payment of such benefits, to replace the existing system under which eligible persons have to apply (meaning that a third of those eligible do not receive their entitlements).
- Launching a citizens’ conference to determine the details of the basic income’s ultimate extension to all citizens, and increasing the payment to 750 euro a month.
Nicole Teke of BIEN’s French affiliate, the French movement for basic income (MFRB), said the following of the result: “This is a beautiful victory, not only for Hamon but also for the idea of basic income. This vote shows that hundreds of thousands of people want basic income to be at the heart of political debate. This is such progress when compared with the misunderstanding of the idea three years ago! The advocacy work carried out by the MFRB along with other associations has borne fruit today.” She highlights that MFRB have contacted all the presidential candidates, advocating for the swift introduction of basic income across the political spectrum. Basic income is proving to be a popular idea in France, as elsewhere, with the Senate just last October releasing a report calling for pilot projects to investigate the policy.
In explaining his reasons for adopting such a stance, Hamon focuses on arguments regarding the changing nature of work given advances in automation. In an interview with Le Monde, for instance, he states: “According to all serious studies, there are hundreds of thousands of unskilled or low-skilled jobs that are beginning to be destroyed in Western economies. We must manage this transition and make the most of this amazing opportunity that the digital revolution offers us to work less and live better.”
This proposal drew sharp criticism from the pro-business Valls, who (despite earlier statements) instead offered a “decent income” of 800 euro a month, targeted solely at the worst-off. This would involve simplifying the French welfare system, but maintaining means-testing.
Hamon’s success has been compared to that of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK, as both represent a return to socialist values within parties that have been moving ever closer to the political center. Hamon’s platform also includes a tax on robots to fund the basic income, reductions in working hours.
Now Hamon will face a hard battle to win the presidential election against his rivals. The Socialist Party has lost a massive number of supporters under the mandate of President Hollande and is expected to be a big loser in the upcoming election.
According to the most recent polls, Hamon would only receive 15% of the votes, in fourth position behind Front National’s Le Pen (25%), Conservative Fillon (22%) and Centrist Macron (21%), but ahead of the radical-leftist Mélenchon (10%). This estimate is, however, much higher than earlier polls suggested, which had predicted Hamon to receive only up to 6% of the votes if he were to become the Socialist candidate.
The first round of the presidential election will take place on 23 April.
Read more:
Stanislas Jourdan, “FRANCE: Pro basic income candidate set to win socialist primary election“, Basic Income News, 22 January, 2017.
Thomas Samson, “Part-Sanders, part-Corbyn: how French socialist Hamon stepped out of the dark“, France 24, 25 January, 2017.
Pascal Guyot, “French left mulls universal basic income ahead of primaries“, France 24, 12 January, 2017.
Cédric Pietralunga and Bastien Bonnefous, “Benoît Hamon : « Le revenu universel est la nouvelle protection sociale »” [Benoît Hamon: universal income is the new social security], Le Monde, 4 January, 2017.
Mathilde Damgé et Adrien Sénécat, “Hamon-Valls : deux revenus de base, un même flou de financement” [Hamon-Valls: two basic incomes, a common haze on financing], Le Monde, 24 January, 2017.
Barbara Carnevale, “La proposition de revenu universel de Benoît Hamon” [Benoît Hamon’s universal income proposal], Le Mouvement Francais pour le Revenu de Base, 23 December, 2016.
Stanislas Jourdan, “FRANCE: Prime Minister Pledges Again to Open the Debate on Basic Income“, Basic Income News, 25 September, 2016.
“FRANCE: Senate Report Marks Another Milestone for Basic income“, Basic Income News, 23 October, 2016.
Additional reporting by Stanislas Jourdan
Photo: Benoît Hamon CC 2.0 Parti socialiste
by Kate McFarland | Jan 27, 2017 | News
A cross-party committee of the Scottish Parliament will hold a committee meeting on basic income on March 9, which will be broadcast live on television.
Scotland’s basic income movement has recently enjoyed time in the media spotlight due to the planning of pilot studies in the city of Glasgow and council area of Fife (see, for example, articles in The Guardian by Libby Brooks and Kevin McKenna). While these efforts are being pursued by the respective regional councils, the country’s legislature is also investigating the possibility of a basic income for all of Scotland.
On March 9, 2017, the Social Security Committee of the Scottish Parliament will convene a meeting at which a panel of experts is to present evidence concerning the feasibility of a basic income. The cross-party committee intends to investigate what level of basic income would be sufficient, how the program could be funded, and whether it could be implemented in Scotland given the current devolution of powers in the UK.
Sandra White, MSP from the Scottish National Party (SNP), is the Convener of the Social Security Committee. Explaining the importance of the session on basic income, she says, “We all know the current benefits system is riddled with complexity, and on the face of it the concept of a universal income for everyone is an interesting alternative. However, whilst there is much talk at the moment of the benefits of a citizen’s income, this Committee wants to investigate if the principle can work in practice. Whilst we all want a system that is fairer and looks after those most in need, it’s clear that the implementation of such a concept is far from straightforward.”
The SNP, Scotland’s largest political party, passed a motion endorsing basic income at its conference in March 2016.
The website of the Scottish Parliament notes five experts will address the committee, all of whom have previously written on basic income proposals for Scotland or the UK (see background reading below):
• Donald Hirsch (Professor and Director of the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University)
• Siobhan Mathers (Reform Scotland Advisory Board)
• Annie Miller (Chair of Citizen’s Income Trust, co-founder of BIEN and Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland)
• Anthony Painter (Director of the Action and Research Centre of the Royal Society for Arts)
• Howard Reed (Director of Landman Economics)
The meeting will be broadcast live on www.scottishparliament.tv.
More information: https://www.parliament.scot/newsandmediacentre/103064.aspx
Background Reading
Annie Miller, “Why an independent Scotland would fair better with a Citizen’s Income (CI) or Basic Income (BI) scheme,” Evidence to the Expert Working Group on Welfare, December 13, 2013.
Miller has previously submitted evidence on basic income to the Scottish Government, describing the purported benefits of, philosophical arguments for, and existing empirical research on the idea. (She does not propose any specific basic income scheme here.)
Donald Hirsch, “Could a Citizen’s Income Work?,” Joseph Rowntree Foundation, March 2015.
Hirsch considers major shifts in popular opinion that would be required for the acceptance of a universal basic income. He maintains that UBI is not immediately viable but that reforms in the UK’s Universal Credit system could start to make UBI eventually “more thinkable than it is today.”
Anthony Painter and Chris Thoung, “Creative citizen, creative state: The principled and pragmatic case for a Universal Basic Income,” RSA, December 2015.
Painter and Thoung present multiple arguments for UBI, and develop a proposal for a scheme for the UK, modifying an earlier proposal put forward by the Citizen’s Income Trust. The RSA won a 2016 “Think Tank of the Year” award in part due to this report.
James Mackenzie, Siobhan Mathers, Geoff Mawdsley, and Alison Payne, “The Basic Income Guarantee,” Reform Scotland, February 2016.
The authors critique the UK’s existing welfare system and propose the replacement of many benefits with a universal basic income. They develop a funding model for UBI at the level proposed by the Scottish Greens (£100 per week per adult and £50 per week per child).
Howard Reed and Stewart Lansley, “Universal Basic Income: An idea whose time has come?” Compass, May 2016.
Reed and Lansley simulate and analyze basic income schemes for the UK: three variants of a “full scheme” that replaces most existing means-tested benefits, and two variants of a “modified scheme” that exists alongside existing means-tested benefits in place. They recommend the latter, possibly as transition to the former, and discuss possible funding sources.
Reviewed by Asha Pond
Photo: Scottish Parliament Building, CC BY-NC 2.0 Hamish Irvine
