by Kate McFarland | Nov 25, 2016 | News
Karl Widerquist, BIEN co-chair and co-founder of Basic Income News, was interviewed on a TRT World program, The Newsmakers, as part of a special segment on poverty.
In the six-minute interview, Widerquist discusses poverty and inequality in the United States and argues that a universal basic income is necessary for freedom, addressing the question of whether it is fair to give money to those who don’t work.
TRT World is the international English-language TV channel of Turkey’s national public broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. The Newsmakers is a 30-minute program aired multiple times daily. As the channel describes it, “With in-depth reports and strong, unfiltered debates – The Newsmakers examine the people and the stories that are shaping our lives.”
Stay tuned after Karl’s interview to see the artwork of Stephen Wiltshire, a British artist who can draw cities from memory after only briefly viewing them from helicopters.
Photo: Abandoned house in New Orleans, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Gilbert Mercier
by Yannick Vanderborght | Jul 7, 2012 | Research
In this article, in the Turkish Internet journal called Mavi Defter (which translates as “Blue Notebook”), Yuksel Akkaya argues that even the politicians who speak on the side of basic income are not ready to spend enough money to support it. He further stresses that “humanists” always try to find solutions to social problems. Those “humanists” always tried to arbitrate the failing regimes, and by doing so became the creators of even worse social and living conditions for ordinary people.
Akkaya says that as controversially it might seem, both leftists and rightists support basic income. According to them, in order for basic income to work, it needs to be supported by the market and not by the public. They argue that if it will be supported by the market, it will be more rational. Supporting it any other way would be “populist” and one needs to avoid that. Basic income liberalists claim that the best way is to give everyone basic income, but cut on social expenditures. That way public has no right to complain as they are already getting a basic income. According to these liberalists, the taxation system can also be simplified. Simplified for whom? Asks Akkaya. For industrialists? They are already not paying much. In the history of capitalism, the flexibility and the mobility of capitalist market always benefited privileged few tells the author. In the next part of this article, Akkaya will look at the other side of the coin.
“Temel Gelir versus Kapitalism (mi?) II” (Is Basic Income against Capitalism I). “Mavi Defter” (Blue Notebook).
Akkaya, Y. (2012). Is basic income against capitalism ii. Mavi Defter, online at: https://www.mavidefter.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55:temel-gelir-versus-kapitalizm-mi-ii&catid=58:yukselakkaya&Itemid=96
by Yannick Vanderborght | Jul 3, 2012 | Research
In this article, in the Turkish Internet journal called Mavi Defter, Yuksel Akkaya argues that basic income is seen as a method to fight against capitalism and poverty. This article is the first in the series of three. Basic income is something that questions the value of capitalism and can be seen in the light of income of citizenship. Akkaya further explores how basic income could be seen as a counter attack of current social welfare system. Coming from that point, he divides the social welfare into three historical waves. The first wave occurred in Germany, at the end of the nineteenth century, when workers’ union emerged as a functional unit by creating an insurance system. The second wave came into existence in the United Kingdom as a Beveridge model, after the end of the World War II. This era saw the creation of welfare system that became financed through taxation. Finally, basic income has a big potential of becoming a third important, historical wave. However, the author writes that basic income is something that is beyond the social welfare system. Many want to shape it as a political entity that works against the rules of capitalism. Basic income reminds Akkaya of Grendrisse of Karl Marx. The reason for such a conclusion, argues the author, is the way basic income functions. Basic income finances population not according to the amount of work one does, but according to the total production of a nation. Is that possible? The author tries to answer this question in his next article.
Akkaya, Y. (2012, June 18). Temel gelir versus capitalism (mi?) I is online at:
https://www.mavidefter.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54:temel-gelir-versus-kapitalizm-mi-i-&catid=58:yukselakkaya&Itemid=96
