by Sandro Gobetti | Apr 3, 2013 | Research
[Sabrina Del Pico – BIN Italia – March 2013]
This article argues that a universal livable income represents a wise investment for the future rather than an unsustainable cost. Using a metaphor about roof construction, the author compares and contrasts the long-term benefits of a universal income with the detriments to society at large caused by failing to introduce such a measure. The author, in fact, highlights how society would benefit from it both at socio-economic and health level.
C.A., L’Hirondelle, “The High Costs of a Leaky Roof Society” Livable 4 All, February 26th, 2013: https://www.livableincome.org/agliroof.htm
by Sandro Gobetti | Mar 14, 2013 | News
[by Sabrina Del Pico – BIN Italia]
In January 2013, a few weeks before general elections, Beppe Grillo, the colourful leader of Movimento 5 Stelle – M5S (5 Star Movement) declared: “The first thing we will do, after entering the Parliament, is to introduce a citizen’s income for those who lost their jobs or do not have a job”. During the campaign for the national Parliament M5S presented its agenda including 20 points, the second of which was what Beppe Grillo improperly called a citizen’s income.
That term is usually used synonymously with the term basic income for an unconditional income given to all without any means test or work requirement. Grillo instead used it essentially as a new name for unemployment insurance conditional on readiness to accept a job if one becomes available. Grillo himself said in a recent interview (in Italian), “the employment offices will offer people one, two, three jobs. If they don’t accept those jobs they will lose the benefit.” He did not even clarify whether the job offer must be appropriate for the individual’s skills.
M5S won an astonishing victory. It emerged as Italy’s biggest single party in the lower chamber with 8.7 million over, nearly a quarter of all votes cast. Its leader did not eat his words pronounced during the electoral campaign and went on talking about the introduction of a what he calls citizen’s income as one of the most important actions to be taken.
If on the one hand, it is unprecedented that Italian mainstream politicians put on their agenda measures addressing citizens’ economic conditions; on the other hand it added confusion to political language and therefore also to concepts and outcomes. See the link below for an article misunderstanding Grillo’s use of the term citizens income. M5S’ proposal considers a measure that provides unemployed with €1000 a month for 3 years. It is a quite vague proposal as regards the implementation process but as one point: the measure is entirely conditional to availability for work or some kind of commitment to a reintegration trajectory. It is clear, therefore, that what they call a citizen’s income is actually a kind of unemployment benefit, either contributory or non-contributory. This is not a mere linguistic issue. It actually hides – or reveals, according to the standpoint – an inadequate and shallow knowledge of welfare state policies by mainstream politics, which implies the risk to implement a workfare measure passed off as a basic income.
Nevertheless, this proposal opened a lively debate in the mainstream politics about the necessity to provide citizens facing economic problems with some kind of income support. Nearly all Italian political parties are now aware that the issue of introducing an income support scheme is an inescapable fact.
As a matter of fact, in July 2012, BIN Italia, along with many associations and grassroots organisations, already launched a campaign to propose a popular initiative bill on guaranteed minimum income in Italy. The campaign, which ended in December 2012, was a great success. It reached its target to collect 50,000 signatures, and therefore the popular initiative bill on guaranteed minimum income may not only represent an important contribution to the current debate but it may also help determine implementation and practical aspects of welfare reform in Italy.
RELATED LINKS:
The website, truthout.org, published a long article (in English) on M5S’s policy entirely under the misapprehension that M5S had endorsemed basic income: Ellen Brown, “QE for the People: Comedian Beppe Grillo’s Populist Plan for Italy,” Truthout, Thursday, 07 March 2013: https://truth-out.org/news/item/14953-qe-for-the-people-comedian-beppe-grillos-populist-plan-for-italy
An article (in Italian) by Roberto Ciccarelli appears in Il Manifesto briefly explaining the difference between a basic income and the unemployment benefit particularly in the light of the latest statements made by main mainstream politicians. He clarifies the positions of Bersani (Democratic Party), Vendola (SEL Sinistra Ecologia Libertà – Left Ecology Freedom), and Grillo (M5S) as well as those of some grassroots organizations such as BIN Italia and San Precario. Ciccarelli is one of the few in the mainstream media to highlight the haziness of Grillo’s proposal: https://www.ilmanifesto.it/area-abbonati/ricerca/nocache/1/manip2n1/20130302/manip2pg/06/manip2pz/336754/manip2r1/ciccarelli/
by Sandro Gobetti | Mar 7, 2013 | News
[BIN-Italia – January 2013]
A public meeting entitled “Citizen’s Income: the Hypothesis of a Guaranteed Minimum Income” was held in Rome at La Villetta on January 16th. The Forum on Labour, Rights, and Youth Employment organised the event in co-operation with the political party SEL – Sinistra Ecologia Libertà (Left Ecology Freedom).
The program of the meeting included the following speakers and themes:
Enzo D’arcangelo (member of the Forum on Labour, Rights, and Youth Employment): New forms of poverty and new welfare state
Mauro Palma (European Council, and National Presidency of SEL): Fundamental Rights, material conditions, and social risks
Giuseppe Bronzini (Judge in the Supreme Court of Cassation in Italy, and BIN Italia member): Citizen’s Income
Mariapia Pizzolante (TILT): The campaign for a Guaranteed Minimum Income
https://www.bin-italia.org/
by Sandro Gobetti | Mar 6, 2013 | News
[BIN-Italia – January 2013]
BIN Italia presented its latest book at Sala delle Carte Geografiche in Rome on January 15th. The book, entitled Reddito minimo garantito, un progetto necessario e possibile [Guaranteed Minimum Income, a feasible and necessary project] was published by Edizioni Gruppo Abele.
The book is the result of a research carried out by BIN Italia. It looks at the experiences of guaranteed minimum income in force in many European countries, it tells about the experimentation of implementing a guaranteed minimum income in some Italian regions, and finally it suggests a possible way to implement a national law on guaranteed minimum income in Italy by making suggestions and proposals, giving insights, and providing analyses.
The book presentation was followed by a debate moderated by Marta Bonafoni who is an independent journalist at Radio Popolare Roma. Luigi Ferrajoli (Italian jurist, and Professor of Philosophy of Law at University of Rome “Roma Tre”), Maria Rosaria Marella (Professor of Private Law at the University of Perugia), Stefano Rodotà (Italian jurist, and Professor of Law at University of Rome “La Sapienza”), Massimiliano Smeriglio (Town Councillor for Labour Policies at Provincia di Roma), and Nicola Zingaretti (Governor of the Province of Rome) took part in the debate. The authors of the book also took part in the event.
The book presentation was broadcast on Radio Radicale, and reported on UniRoma TV.
The report (in Italian) of the book presentation is online at:
https://www.uniroma.tv/video.asp?id=22041
The radio broadcast (in Italian) is available online at:
https://www.radioradicale.it/scheda/370485
https://www.bin-italia.org/
by Sandro Gobetti | Mar 5, 2013 | News
[BIN-Italia – January 2013]
On 4th January 2013 BIN Italia launched a campaign called “Guaranteed Income on the Political Agenda” inviting civil society, social movements, grassroots networks and associations, as well as those candidates who are sensitive to this issue, to organise public events in their territories in order to debate about the necessity to introduce such a measure in Italy.
During this last election campaign, the issue of income support was shyly mentioned by some candidates who have referred to it using different approaches which sometimes seemed to be confusing and conflicting. Candidates have not yet said anything concrete about it, i.e. about when and how it might be introduced, the eligibility criteria, and the amount of this measure.
BIN Italia launched this campaign in hopes that the issue of a guaranteed income is one of the points to be addressed during the first 100 days of the government, and that it will be dealt with as an urgent proposal which is necessary for the citizens of our country. Bin Italia reckons that this issue should be given due priority, and therefore it calls for the introduction of a Guaranteed Income on the Italian political agenda, both at local and national level.
Full version of the call (in Italian) is available online at:
https://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=452
https://www.bin-italia.org/
