by Stanislas Jourdan | Mar 12, 2015 | News
A vast majority of candidates running the next parliamentary elections in Finland said they agree with the principle of the basic income, reveals national media.
With contribution from Johanna Perkiö
As the general elections are approaching, the idea of basic income just breached an unprecedented milestone in Finland, with nearly 65.5% of all parliamentary candidates publicly supporting the policy.
The report released by national media YLE is based on direct answers from candidates collected through an online platform launched. 1,642 running candidates participated – for a total of nearly 2,000. Among other questions, candidates were asked if they agree with the following statement: “Finland should implement a basic income scheme that would replace the current minimum level of social security.”
Without surprise, the Greens candidates are the most favorable to the policy (99%), followed by the Left Alliance candidates (95%) and the Center (83%). Significant support is also found among the nationalist party ‘True Finns’ (57%) and the Swedish People’s Party (53%).
Altogether, political parties committed to basic income could virtually represent between 40 and 60% of the votes – theoretically enough to form a government.
On the other side, opponents to basic income are the Social Democratic Party (80% of their candidates), the Conservative Party (67%) and the Christian Democrats (57%).
A wave of new political support for basic income has emerged last autumn when the opposition leader proposed to experiment basic income with pilots projects. According to a recent opinion poll, 70% of Finns endorse basic income.
The next parliamentary elections in Finland will take place on April 19th. It seems the opportunity for introducing basic income pilots in Finland – and Europe – have never been so close.
Credit picture: CC hugovk
by Andre Coelho | Mar 10, 2015 | News
Guy Standing describes, in the present article, the European Central Bank (ECB) as undemocratic, pushing countries to step back on social policies, ramping up insecurity and precariousness and generally representing the financial sector. He suggests directing a small 1% part of the recently deployed Quantitative Easing (QE) scheme to lower income regions, in the form of a basic income, on a pilot basis, suggesting payment for 12 or 24 months. Main benefits include reduced pressure to emigrate, boost aggregate demand and help reduce inequality.
Guy Standing, “Basic income pilots: a better option than QE“, Social Europe, February 9 2015
by Andre Coelho | Mar 7, 2015 | News
Francisco Louçã. Credit
to: DN Portugal
On the 7th of February, Francisco Louçã, a long time left-wing public figure in Portuguese politics, wrote an article named “How to pull the PS policial party to something civic [De como puxar o PS para qualquer coisa de cívico]“. This extensive article deals with many political aspects and analysis, but at a certain point cuts a clear criticism on the fact that the political party LIVRE has inserted (a reference to) Basic Income on its draft political program for the upcoming elections. The arguments being that LIVRE has not detailed a way to finance Basic Income, and that this unconditional income should not be given to rich people, since they clearly do not need it.
This first article was extensively commented on the website where it was published, the Público newspaper blog “Tudo Menos Economia [Everything But Economy]”, where Francisco Louçã regularly writes. Comments came from Basic Income supporters (like Roberto Merrill, António Dores and Dario Ferreira from the Basic Income activist group in Portugal) and many others, arguing on moral terms and supplying some numbers which might cover Basic Income expenses for the Portuguese social reality, rejecting the idea that it might not be fundable.
Rendimento Básico Portugal group logo
The original critic by Francisco Louçã and this first round of discussions around Basic Income encouraged André Barata, a LIVRE militant to compose an answer to Louçã’s arguments. As a long time Basic Income defender and political activist, he framed Basic Income as a human right, alongside Education and Health, and so justified it as a guarantee for all citizens, independently of their present income. As for the necessary funding calculations, he argued that first a new idea has to stand on its own, then its defenders must think of ways to inspire public policy and then, finally, financing calculations must be performed.
André Barata. Credit to: iOnline
Inspired by the flood of comments on his first article and André Barata’s response, Francisco Louçã published a second article titled Basic Income: how, how much and for whom [“Rendimento Básico Incondicional”: como, quanto e para quem], where he laments having been judged by Basic Income defenders but reinforces his opinion that financial practicability must be performed now, so that the Basic Income can gain, from his point of view, concrete credibility for action and not degenerate into an utopian illusion. He also reinforces his standpoint that it is fundamentally inacceptable to give a Basic Income to the wealthy, as well as to the poor, since he argues these are not the same and thus should not be treated equally. As for the financing effort itself, he further argues that the Basic Income bill would still be enormous, something around an extra 50 000 million €/year, which means an increase of 2.4 times the present taxation burden on work, although he concedes that other sources of income maybe at the State’s disposal (e.g.: taxation on fortunes, resource and pollution taxes, further curbing tax evasion). He concludes that it would be better to maintain the current system, albeit getting better at collecting taxes.
This second article generated a new flood of comments. The Basic Income public discussions in Portugal have finally started.
More information at:
André Coelho, “Portugal: Social movements and political party together for basic income“, BI News, February 2 2015
Language: Portuguese
Francisco Louçã, “How to pull the PS policial party to something civic [De como puxar o PS para qualquer coisa de cívico]“, Tudo Menos Economia (blog), February 6 2015
Language: Portuguese
André Barata, “An income for everyone – answer to Francisco Louçã’s arguments [Um rendimento para todos – resposta aos argumentos de Francisco Louçã]“, O Irrevogável (blog), March 5 2015
Language: Portuguese
Francisco Louçã, “Basic Income: how, how much and for whom [“Rendimento Básico Incondicional”: como, quanto e para quem]“, Tudo Menos Economia (blog), March 2 2015
by Stanislas Jourdan | Feb 28, 2015 | News
By including a paragraph mentioning “basic income” in a letter to the ministers of the eurozone, SYRIZA’s government seems to be looking forward to examining the possible implementation of a national basic income scheme. But the details of the scheme remain completely unknown for the moment.
Last wednesday, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis sent a letter to all the finance ministers of the euro zone including a list of reforms the Syriza government commits to implement, in an attempt to get an extension of the bailout program the country is currently bound to.
The very expected list of reforms sent last wednesday includes a very ambiguous paragraph mentioning the concept of a guaranteed basic income:
Establish a closer link between pension contributions and income, streamline benefits, strengthen incentives to declare paid work, and provide targeted assistance to employees between 50 and 65, including through a Guaranteed Basic Income scheme, so as to eliminate the social and political pressure for early retirement which over-burdens the pension funds.
The sentence was immediately picked by Business Insider’s Tom Hirt who seems to be assuming that the Greek government is actually planning to implement a basic income “granted to individual citizens, without means testing or having a work requirement”.
While the article went viral on the internet, we still do not know what exactly the Greek finance minister had in mind when he included the term “Guaranteed Basic Income scheme” in the letter, especially as the sentence sends mixed feelings on whether the plan would include all the population or just a targeted age group, and if it would include conditions or not.
This would not be the first time the term ‘basic income’ has be confused with similar yet different ideas, such as the guaranteed minimum income which is usually understood as a means-tested scheme, attached to work requirement, rarely fully universal, and not granted individually – as opposed to BIEN’s definition of the basic income.
So far, Syriza has never publicly discussed or pushed for the idea of the universal basic income, although it did try to pass a legislative initiative in favour of a means-tested minimum income back in 2005 – unsuccessfuly. As a matter of fact, the idea of basic income does not seem to have spread so much among the party’s membership.
Noteworthily, Greece is one of the few EU countries which do not have yet a guaranteed income scheme.
In november 2014, minimum income pilots projects were started in Greece. It concerns 13 municipalities all over greece, in which 7% of the population of each municipality was selected with criteria (income and unemployment).
Those programs are part of the memorandum of understanding between the Greek government and the so-called Troika (IMF, ECB, and the EU Commission) in an attempt to push Greece towards the implementation of a minimum income.
Interestingly, Greece’s letter to the EU also promises to “Evaluate the pilot Minimum Guaranteed Income scheme with a view to extending it nationwide.” However, the newly elected minister of labor Panos Skourletis has already put on hold the pilots, soon after taking his new position.
While the current political situation in Greece might turn out as an opportunity for basic income, there was no big win just yet. We will look forward to get more information from the actual intentions of the new government.
Credit picture CC Asteris Masouras
by Stanislas Jourdan | Feb 21, 2015 | News
Green-Left party in Hungary proposes the introduction of a basic income to which all Hungarian citizens would be entitled.
On February 15th, the party Párbeszéd Magyarországért (“Dialogue for Hungary”) announced in a press conference that it would push for the implementation of a basic income in the country.
The announcement followed a vote of the party congress where 90% of the members voted in favour of the policy.
Under the proposal, children would receive about 80 euro per month, adults 160 euro and young mothers 240 euro. The party promised to come forward with more detailed calculations in support of their proposal’s feasibility in the upcoming months.
The poverty line in Hungary is estimated around 200 euro for a single adult, 830 euro for a family of two parents with two children.
A promise for a “liveable Hungary”
According to co-chair Tímea Szabó, who represents the party in the Hungarian parliament, the country is “terribly ill”, with suffering and lack of perspectives spreading like cancer through society. In this situation, the basic income is also a promise for a “liveable Hungary”, which would also produce positive economic effects, i.e. encourage investments and create jobs by strengthening demand.
Tímea Szabó
Co-chair of the party Gergely Karácsony stressed that such a model would lead to a substantial transformation of existing benefits, thereby reducing bureaucracy and improving existential security for all citizens. He explained that all citizens would be eligible for the basic income, however it would not mean higher income for better off classes, as it would come with scrapping the current flat tax on incomes in favour of a progressive model.
The party announcement provoked a new wave of awareness in Hungarian media, including a long feature about basic income on the website of the national weekly HVG. Last year, a detailed study on basic income (pdf) published by an hungarian independent think tank came out in favor of basic income and seem to have inspired Dialogue for Hungary.
The other green party in Hungary (Lehet Más a Politika, LMP) is also in principle supportive of basic income and the Socialist Party also promoted it briefly during its campaign for the national elections in 2014. However, Dialogue for Hungary is the first Hungarian party with representation in parliament that officially throws itself behind the idea of basic income. The party currently have one seat in national parliament and one seat at the European Parliament.
First step: a minimum income in Budapest
While the party is in great minority at national level, it plans to put word into action through the city of Budapest, whose 14th district is mayored by the party’s co-chair Karácsony. His administration is about to introduce a means tested minimum income model that would ensure that all citizens within the district facing hardship receive at least 85 euro per month – which is 10 euro above the standard social benefit level in Hungary.
With this move, the Hungarian Left-Green Party is joining many of its sister green parties across the world who support basic income, including France, Finland, the UK, the United States.
