by Karl Widerquist | Jan 23, 2014 | Research
SUMMARY: An article on the cost of living, the cost of stigmatising, and the cost of forgetting the rich historical basis of the Universal Basic Income (UBI) idea. It further explores how the recent proposal to institute a UBI in Switzerland may turn out to be a short-lived experiment, but how it raises important questions about human needs, social justice and how to attend them.
Tobias Haeusermann is a PhD candidate in Sociology at King’s College, University of Cambridge.
Tobias Haeusermann, “A Salary for Living,” King’s Review, Jan 17th, 2014.
From the King's Review
by Karl Widerquist | Jan 20, 2014 | News
[Karl Widerquist]
A spokesperson for Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party called unconditional basic income (UBI) “dangerous brainstorming” in a recent press conference, according to Politics.HU. In response, the opposition Socialist party released a statement welcoming proposals of such as UBI. Although the Socialists stopped short of endorsing UBI, they indicated (quoting Politics.HU), “the government’s policies were ‘helping the rich, and increasing social gaps and poverty,’ in the light of which it was ‘no surprise’ that the ruling party rejected the idea.” Katalin Szili, head of the non-parliamentary Community for Social Justice party did endorse UBI.
The high level debate indicates the success of recent social activism for UBI in Europe. It has brought the issue into the political consciousness. The issue has gathered enough attention to inspire a survey by the Szazadveg Foundation. The survey found a large majority was skeptical about the idea.
For more on UBI in Hungary, see:
MTI, “Basic income for everyone ‘dangerous’ idea, says Fidesz spokesman”, Politics.HU, January 14, 2014
And
MTI, “Majority of Hungarians reject basic income guarantee”, Politics.HU, January 17, 2014
Politics.HU
by Karl Widerquist | Jan 20, 2014 | News
Summary: In this episode Rob talks about human rights, basic income security and an approach to poverty that makes a whole lot of sense. Rob has 20 years of experience in not-for-profit leadership, primarily in environmental conservation and sustainable development and more recently concerning poverty in Canada. He has been described as a mentor who is “light on my feet” with respect to his capacity to initiate and make decisions. Through his new consultancy, CauseWorth Mission Impact, he is applying his experience, knowledge, skills and contacts in support of organizations involved in social justice, social service, personal development, conservation and environmental protection.
David Peck, “Rob Rainer on human rights and income security [Interview],” Face2Face, August 30, 2013.
by Yannick Vanderborght | Jan 15, 2014 | Research
Aynur Bashirova – January 2013
Lars Christensen, in his article published in the Market Monitarist, presents Milton Friedman’s idea of “negative income tax” in light of the arguments about BI brought forward by his friend Matt Zwolinski. Friedman had monetarist and liberal society ideas and one of his suggestions that attracted the author was the suggestion of negative income tax. His friend Zwolinski believes that BI needs to be directly distributed to poor as money check without conditions because there is a higher chance that the marginalized groups of society had ancestors that suffered from social injustices and they need to be compensated for that. Throughout the article, Christensen argues that he agrees with the general idea of BI, as proposed by Friedman and Zwolinski, but at the same time, he does not believe in the change of the monetary system in order to redistribute the income and neither thinks that it is as easy to do as it is presented.
Lars Christensen. “There is a Pragmatic (but not a Libertarian) Case for a ‘Basic Income Guarantee’”. The Market Monetarist, 8 December 2013.
by Karl Widerquist | Jan 13, 2014 | News
Rob Rainer, on behalf of Basic Income Canada Network released the inaugural campaign plan for The BIG Push—an effort to move the Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) into the political mainstream in Canada. See an earlier story that appeared on BI News on Nov. 17, 2013.
Rob Rainer
The plan was approved last Thursday evening by the Board of Directors of BICN. It identifies 46 tactics supporting the three external campaign goals and three internal goals, the latter concerning team building, communications and fundraising. Much of the campaign effort in 2014 will be aimed at the Canadian federal parliament, working towards the 2015 federal election when there is opportunity to make basic income a prominent feature of that contest. According to Rainer, “There is ample work to be done in raising public awareness and building public support for a BIG. Happily, there are encouraging signs of growing awareness and materializing support.”
“[O]vercoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.” -Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), from BICN
A modest budget of $300,000 for 2014 has been established in support of the plan. BICN expects that to reach this will require extensive fundraising, with expectation that much of the funding will materialize from individuals. They also aspire to raise funds from faith groups, unions and professional associations. According to BIEN, “Any leads for funding prospects and any support for helping us meet and surpass our revenue targets will be deeply appreciated.” Rainer writes, “If you have any questions about any aspect of the plan or would like further information, please contact me. Thank you for your keen interest in basic income: let’s make 2014 a breakthrough year for basic income security for all Canadians.”
For more information:
See the BIG Push Campaign website: https://www.thebigpush.net/
Or the Campaign Plan and Budget (in PDF for): https://www.thebigpush.net/uploads/2/2/6/8/22682672/the_big_push_campaign_plan.pdf
Or contact: Rob Rainer, Director, The BIG Push Campaign at: rob.causeworth@gmail.com
The BIG Push Campaign of the Basic Income Network Canada
