by Karl Widerquist | Sep 1, 2013 | Research
[Robin Ketelaars – Vereniging Basisinkomen]
In a thesis of the study in Dutch Law at the Open University of the Netherlands 2012, (now Mr.) Baukje Hilarides investigated the possibilities and bottlenecks in the implementation of the Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) (OBi in Dutch) in Netherlands. Is the Unconditional Basic Income achievable in the Netherlands? Her answer is: “Yes, because the UBI is line with the Constitution and does not appear to be inconsistent with Article 1 ECtHR FP[1]. The UBI is also affordable and can positively influence society and the economy”. It will find the author’s current commitment to full employment obsolete, because the automation unemployment will increase rather than decrease. The conclusion at the end of the thesis is that the introduction of the UBI in the Netherlands is feasible. However, extensive research is needed before one can implement the UBI
Baukje Hilarides, “Is het onvoorwaardelijk basisinkomen haalbaar in Nederland?” Open University, Leeuwarden 2012: https://dspace.ou.nl/bitstream/1820/4485/1/hilarides.pdf
[1] https://basisinkomen.nl/wp/basisinkomen-positief-getoetst-aan-de-grondwet-en-artikel-1-ep-evrm/
by Yannick Vanderborght | Apr 1, 2013 | News
[Robin Ketelaars – Vereniging Basisinkomen (the Netherlands) – April 2013]
At the start of this year the European Union (EU) registered the European Citizens’ Initiative for an Unconditional Basic Income. Fifteen EU member states are participating in this initiative. Before January 14th 2014 one million statements of support have to be collected for the initiative to pass. When the organizers of the citizens’ initiative reach this number, the European Commission will have to examine the initiative and arrange a public hearing for the Unconditional Basic Income by the European Parliament.
The initiative can be found at https://basicincome2013.eu and can only be signed by citizens of the European Union.
A YouTube Video explaining the initiative is online at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqXXO0GGNRI
by Karl Widerquist | Dec 12, 2012 | Research
According to the publisher Palgrave/Macmillan, “This exciting and timely collection brings together international and national scholars and advocates to provide historical overviews of efforts to pass basic income guarantee legislation in their respective countries and/or across regions of the globe. Contributing authors address specific substantive issues such as: who were the main people and groups involved in support of or against such legislative efforts; what were the main reasons for the success or failure of BIG-related initiatives to date; and what the prospects are for the future. Countries discussed include Australia, Finland, Germany, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and the US.” The publisher also quotes Greg Marston, who writes, “This book integrates careful research, political theory and practical insights in a way that no other volume on the idea of a basic income guarantee has yet done. Through engaging and thoughtful presentation of wide ranging national case studies, readers will learn a great deal about the global state of play. In an age of growing economic insecurity, the book provides a timely reminder of the possibilities income guarantee schemes offer for improving social wellbeing.”
For more information go to:
https://us.macmillan.com/basicincomeguaranteeandpolitics/RichardKCaputo
by Yannick Vanderborght | Oct 29, 2012 | Opinion
The general elections of September 12, 2012 in the Netherlands show how far basic income has to go in the Netherlands. The elections were characterized by many debates in the media: radio, television, magazines and newspapers, but reporting and interviews were focused on party leaders of the major parties and some of the smaller parties already represented in the parliament, rather than on newcomers parties, some of which have endorsed basic income.
In Holland we have public broadcasting by NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting – Dutch Broadcasting Foundation), so you should presume some objectivity about all political parties. NOS has the option to only have news about the political parties which have seats in parliament. All newcomers (about 10 from 22) were presumed not important enough to have some news about them in the broadcast
The elections resulted in a total of 21,176 votes for political newcomers which have a statement on a Citizens Income / Unconditional Basic Income (UBI – OBI in Dutch) – in their program. Those new parties didn’t get any seats in parliament because the minimum for one seat is about 60,000 votes. In Holland we have 9 million voters and 150 seats in parliament. This must be a signal that there has a lot of work to be done by supporters of the UBI to inform people on the advantages of the UBI.
A few new parties SOPN [Soeverein Onafhankelijke Pioniers Nederland – Sovereign Independent Pioneers of the Netherlands] and PVDT (Partij van de Toekomst – Party of the Future) that seek for real innovations, such as direct democracy, digital civil rights and UBI. They were sparsely covered. Of course, every political party had the six free three-minutes legal obligation airtime on public broadcasting, but that was all. Also the various polls taken in advance to the elections only concerned the established parties. The newcomers received no attention and were not even mentioned in the polls.
For us as Vereniging Basisinkomen (Basic Income Association) there is still a lot of work to do. We must choose a different strategy. The parliament, as it stands, will not seriously take notice of the UBI. We need to address people at their hearts and only then will there be a majority that can ensure that UBI becomes a major issue in politics. Maybe we can get an overall understanding by politicians that the Unconditional Basic Income is the universal way to achieve a socially and just society to for the future where every individual can live in freedom without hardship.
Results of the elections
# Valid votes 9,424,235
# Invalid votes 20,984
# Blank votes 17,004
# Percentage of blank votes 0,18 %
# Electors 12,689,810
# Attendance 9,462,223
# Turnout 74.57 %
# Votes for an UBI 21,176
by Yannick Vanderborght | Oct 3, 2012 | News
The first two sessions are now available as replay, both slides and audio. Here are the links: (You may need to Control Click on the URL or copy and paste into your browser.)
August 5 – Session One – https://instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=33395637
I. Economics and Conscious Evolution – series overview; Module 1 of Land Rights online course; land rights and the person/planet relationship; PROUT’s social psychology and evolution of the social cycle.
Guest Speakers: Michael Towsey (Australia), Acharya Santosananda (India)
September 2 – Session Two – https://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=32626596
II. The Wealth Divide – poverty and economic inequality within the US and Africa; The Enclosures; the “resource curse” and the corruption of economics; the “law of rent”; addressing the land problem; cooperatives.
Guest Speakers: Gordon Abiama (Nigeria), Acharya Maheshverananda (Venezuela)
Date, theme and speakers for upcoming Session Three:
October 7
III. Sharing the Commons – separative consciousness and genocide; unity consciousness and commoning; property rights paradigm shift; land value capture and commons trusts; jubilee justice public finance policies; sharing and caring for each other and the world’s resources.
Guest Speakers: Kevin Annett (Canada), Lisinka Ulatowska (Netherlands)
Date and Time: Sunday, October 7th at 4:00pm Eastern, 1:00pm Pacific, 9:00pm UK
(For other time zones you can go to the online World Clock.)
To attend go to:
https://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=33631509
PIN Code (session ID): 090366# (if required)
This mode of access enables you to listen to the webcast and view the slides. You may communicate with us via typing into the Question and Answers box.
To prepare for Session Three you may scroll through Module Three of the Land Rights Course here: https://www.course.earthrights.net Your free Land Rights course access is included with the teleseminar. This is the password: earthrights. Please let us know if you have any difficulty accessing the course.
Also, please do your best to find time to view HIDDEN NO LONGER, a film about our guest speaker Kevin Annett and the Canadian genocide of Native American children who attended church and state sponsored schools. Http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=9vNW9meqny4&feature=endscreen
We suggest that you print out this page and post it as a reminder to join us on October 7th.
Thank you for your interest in the Sustainable Economics Teleseminars!
From co-hosts Wendell Fitzgerald and Alanna Hartzok and the Conscious Evolution Teleseminar Group.
(If you are not yet registered for this teleseminar series you may do so by contacting alanna(at)earthrights.net)
