by Karl Widerquist | Dec 20, 2017 | Opinion, The Indepentarian
This essay was originally published in the USBIG NewsFlash in December 2005.
On November 6, at a conference on greater economic integration in the Americas in Brasilia, just after his 22 minutes conference in Brasilia, President Bush extended his hands Senator Suplicy, who asked:
Senator SUPLICY: “With respect to the integration of the Americas we should have the purpose of not only to have the free movement of capital, goods, and services, without any barriers but also and mainly of what is most important, that is, of human beings from Alaska to the Patagonia. More than that we should also have what you already have in Alaska with much success, a citizen’s basic income to all residents in that State.”
President Bush: “Well, in Alaska they have lots of oil.”
SUPLICY: “But we may have a basic income from all the forms of wealth that are created. I would like to suggest that in order to create the conditions for real peace based on justice in Iraq that we should stimulate the Iraqis to follow the example of Alaska that pays every year a basic income to all residents living in that State in the form of dividends that result from the Alaska Permanent Fund.”
BUSH: “We are working on that! We are working on that! Thank you.”
Suplicy also spoke about Brazil’s basic income at the Parliamentary Network Conference of the World Bank in Helsinki, Finland on October 21-23. About 180 members of the parliaments of about 100 countries of the world participated in the Conference. Senator Suplicy individually lobbied several members of parliaments on Basic Income. Suplicy presented the same lecture at the Austrian and Belgium Basic Income Network, in Vienna, October 9, and to the Training Department of the European Commission, on October 10.
by Faun Rice | Nov 23, 2017 | News
Ontario Basic Income Network delegates. Credit to: Lindsay Advocate.
On November 4th 2017, the Ontario Basic Income Network (OBIN) held its annual meeting in Lindsay, Ontario, Canada. Lindsay is one of the sites of the Ontario basic income pilot project, with approximately 2,000 residents registered in the experiment. Delegates at the November 4th meeting unanimously passed “The Lindsay Declaration for a Progressive Basic Income.”
The Lindsay Declaration draws from human rights outlined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It also highlights what it considers the benefits of basic income and the momentum built by the Ontario government’s three-year basic income pilot (ongoing).
The Declaration proposes nine principles to guide basic income policy. These state that basic income must be promoted as justice rather than charity, and as abundance rather than austerity. The principles further assert that basic income must be reliable, based on cost of living and protected from creditors. Finally, the Lindsay Declaration supports basic income that does not preclude a “comprehensive social security system,” and that aligns with progressive “personal and corporate taxation.”
After the meeting, delegates voiced their intention to use the Lindsay Declaration as a tool for basic income advocacy across Canada. The Declaration has received attention from regional news and social media.
More information at:
The Lindsay Declaration
Basic Income Canada Network endorsements
“Ontario delegates pass ‘Lindsay Declaration’ on basic income,” Kawartha Lakes This Week, November 7th 2017
Roderick Benns, “‘Lindsay Declaration’ on progressive basic income passed by delegates,” The Lindsay Advocate, November 7th 2017
“Town of Lindsay chosen to host basic income pilot program,” Global News, October 12, 2017
by Faun Rice | Nov 15, 2017 | News
Dolly Parton, 2011. Credit to: Eva Rinaldi Photography
Approximately 1,300 homes were destroyed by wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in November of 2016. Singer and actress Dolly Parton, who comes from the same county, created a fund through the Dollywood Foundation to help families uprooted by the fires. The My People Fund provided $1,000 USD per month to each family who lost a home, beginning in December 2016 and ending in May 2017 with a final payment of $5,000. Approximately 900 families were found eligible for this program.
Stacia West, Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Tennessee, made a link between the My People Fund and basic income in a recent interview. West worked with the Dollywood Foundation to develop an evaluation of the My People Fund, using a survey that assessed family finances, housing, wellbeing, and sources of support. The first survey was answered by approximately 100 voluntary participants in April 2017, and preliminary findings are available. The same questionnaire will be distributed in December 2017. This approach is intended to help the team assess whether or not the My People Fund had a positive impact on recipients’ lives, and if so, to what extent.
In an email communication with Basic Income News, Dr. West commented on the link between the My People Fund and basic income:
“Though intended solely as financial support for survivors of the wildfires, the My People Fund cash transfers mirror some components of basic income, particularly that the transfers were provided without a means test and for a somewhat extended duration of 6 months. Final results of the longitudinal evaluation will be available in early 2018, and I look forward to learning how the transfers impacted financial, social, and health outcomes for the sample.”
Credit to: UT Knoxville
The preliminary findings of the My People Fund Evaluation state that on average, respondents experienced an increase in housing costs (mortgage or rent) following the wildfires. For example, partnered or married households shifted from spending 38% of their income on housing before the fires, to 64% after relocation. Most respondents reported having to take time away from work, and 74% of respondents had fire-related expenses not covered by insurance. Some experienced depression, anxiety, or a loss of self-efficacy following the fires. In addition, 62% of respondents noted that cash donations were the most useful form of support following the fire.
Download the full report here.
More information at:
Steve Ahillen, “Dolly Parton’s ‘My People’ money paid off for those who lost homes in fires, study shows,” USA Today Network-Tennessee. November 16th 2017.
“UT Releases Preliminary Findings of ‘My People Fund’ Evaluation,” Tennessee Today, November 16th 2017.
Stacia West, “My People Fund Evaluation: Preliminary Findings,” The University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Social Work, October 1st 2017.
by Andre Coelho | Nov 7, 2017 | News
Dr. Sean Healy and Michelle Murphy of Social Justice Ireland.
Promoted and organized by the Social Justice Ireland Team, the Annual Social Policy Conference will take place on Tuesday, the 21st of November 2017. The venue will be located at Croke Park, in Dublin, and will last from 9:30 am up to 5:00 pm on that day. Registration can be done online.
Journalist and broadcaster Michael Clifford will chair de Conference. A short description of the Conference is presented by Social Justice Ireland:
“In recent years we have seen increasing divisions within society and between people and the State. Trust between people and the institutions established to serve them has been eroded. Populism and the concept of “fake news” and a post-factual society are gaining traction. This important conference will bring together national and international speakers to address these issues from a range of perspectives.”
More information at:
Social Justice Ireland website (Annual Social Policy Conference)
by Cordelia Holst | Nov 6, 2017 | News
On Thursday, October 19th, activists, social justice advocates, economists, futurists, venture capitalists, writers, community organizers and politicians gathered at the Old Mint in San Francisco – a symbolically poetic building – to talk about Cash. Organized by the Economic Security Project, the goal of the conference was to “reimagine what an economy built on the well-being of everyone could look like.”
Cara Rose DeFabio and Sandhya Anantharaman were the MC’s for the day, introducing each segment, panel or presentation, showcasing a range of thoughts around how cash transfers can shape society. See the full schedule here.
The conference embraced a range of reasons why giving cash through a Universal Basic Income is an appealing concept. Most segments were in a panel format with experts in their field, moderated by one of their own. This allowed participants to see the differences in thinking across the movement as well as its broad appeal, regardless of what brought these thinkers into to the movement. The first panel was a discussion on automation’s effect on the work force, and how UBI could provide economic security during retraining, between jobs, or to supplement part time work. Another panel, with representatives from three different venture funds, discussed how a UBI might encourage entrepreneurship, while a third panel talked through historical and current systemic racist and sexist policies and practices, and how a combination of a UBI plus a wealth tax to help fund it could course correct extreme inequality.
A general acceptance for the benefit of cash transfers seemed to be the most basic common denominator. The audience was educated on the results of past cash transfer and basic income experiments, as well as updates on current experiments. You can view a high level video of some of the outcomes of these experiments here.
Mayor Tubbs of Stockton talked about his plans for a UBI in his city. Elizabeth Rhodes also gave an update on the Oakland Y-Combinator project. Then Joe Huston, CFO of Give Directly spoke to the effectiveness of cash transfers and positive outcomes in their work in Kenya and Uganda. He announced that Give Directly is now involved in its first US based project, where they are giving debit cards with $1500 directly to victims of Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area. He noted the work that still must be done changing perceptions around what people will do when they are given cash unconditionally, joking that employers don’t say, “I would like to give this employee their bonus, but I’m worried they might drink it away,” yet this is somehow common thinking that needs to be changed based on research results.
Aisha Nyandoro, CEO of Springboard to Opportunity spoke about where the current Welfare system in the US fails. She illustrated the challenges that families living in poverty in Mississippi have piecing together welfare benefits from the government – housing voucher, electricity voucher, and food stamps. The system creates poverty traps and the benefits don’t cover many of the real needs these families have, but cash would. Cash would also limit interaction with the system and remove the feeling of being judged, as well as the stigmas around welfare.
Damareo Cooper, Director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative shared his personal story also highlighting how the current welfare system and prison system fails children and young people, making a convincing case for switching to cash. Almaz Zelleke, professor of Political Science at NYU Shanghai, went further, explaining why a UBI must be paid as cash and not a negative income tax.
Throughout the day, however, there seemed to be a lack of consensus on aspects surrounding universality and unconditionality of a cash transfer policy. The range of standpoints could be seen clearly in a panel with Hawaii State Representative Chris Lee and Alaska State Senator Bill Wielechowski, as well as Joseph Sanberg, the founder of Golden State Opportunity Foundation. Bill educated the audience on the Alaska permanent fund. On the aspect of Universality and Unconditionality he said, “Universality is critical. If the policy was needs-based it would diminish it. The fund is framed as each resident’s ownership of shared resources. This is something that Alaskans share together.”
On the other side of the issue, Joseph Sanberg said, “The social contract is work and you will be able to have economic security.” He tied work requirements to the right to economic security and his efforts have been focused on California Earned Income Tax Credits.
Chris Lee from Hawaii seemed to be working out his state’s position on the issue, noting that for their Earned Income Tax Credits they have expanded the definition of work, looking at where people are spending their hours – for example, caregiving. He did note that his task force is looking at a universal benefit across all economic classes.
Aisha Nyandoro cited the work she does as evidence that work requirements are difficult and policy makers are out of touch on the issue. She invited any policy makers that wanted to get in touch to call her. Anne Price, President of Insight Center for Community Economic Development, explained how racism and sexism shaped current welfare policy around judging who is deserving and who is undeserving. She noted that it is degrading to be on the receiving end of morality, and shared her vision for dignity for all: universal benefits – working or not.
How to pay for it was touched on by some, with ideas ranging from a wealth tax to combat inequality, to a shared patrimony dividends, like Alaska, or some combination of these revenues.
Other highlights of the day included a session by Jane McGonigal from the Institute for the future, and A Frank Conversation about Money with Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook and Co-Chair of the hosting Economic Security Project. Jane coached the audience on how to create empathy for our future selves and envision a future with Universal Basic Income. Anna Sale from “Death, Sex, and Money” interviewed Chris Hughes about his thoughts and feelings around his own fortune and why he supports Universal Basic Income.
The organizing team is clearly very competent and professional, as the entire conference ran very smoothly from check in, AV, lunch, and seating. All details were thought out and executed well. Participants had many opportunities to make connections and discuss the themes.
All in all, this was a very important gathering for the movement.
