by Karl Widerquist | Jun 11, 2014 | News
NICVA Masterclass
According to Eoin Rooney of the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA), NICVA’s first “Masterclass” of 2014 examined the idea of a Basic Income. This would replace the current system of social security with a standard, regular payment for all citizens – as of right. Two slideshows from the Masterclass are online. In the first, Micheál Collins, Senior Research Officer with the Nevin Economic Research Institute, discussed the practicalities of a Basic Income, including what level it could be set at and how it could be funded. In the second, Maureen O’Reilly, an economic consultant, explored the potential wider implications of a Basic Income on the labour market and public finances.
Micheál Collins, “Practicalities of a Basic Income: Levels, Costs, Funding, & Some questions,” NICVA: 16 May 2014.
Maureen O’Reilly, “Implications of a Basic Income: Cutting out the Middleman” NICVA: 16 May 2014.
by Karl Widerquist | Jun 10, 2014 | News
“The Expert Working Group on Welfare” has been commissioned by the ruling Scottish Government to look at the medium and long-term options for welfare in an independent Scotland. The groups second report, “Re-thinking Welfare: Fair, Personal and Simple,” devotes several pages to a Basic or Citizens Income (CI). The Working Group does not endorse it as an immediate goal, but discusses it favorably as a long-term option. According to the report, “Introducing a full CI scheme would be such a significant reform that it may be best considered after the early years of independence have passed and the Scottish economy is maturing. For these reasons we would not recommend the introduction of a CI at this time. However it is an option that could be revisited in the future.”
The full report is available online:
The Expert Working Group on Welfare, “Re-thinking Welfare: Fair, Personal and Simple,” The Scottish Government, 4 June 2014.
by Josh Martin | Jun 8, 2014 | Research
The Sheffield Equality Group has conducted a pilot survey of attitudes twoard basic income. The sample-size was small, and it was gathered without employing randomized sampling techniques. Therefore, the results cannot be considered representative; the author’s “primary aim was to assess the diversity of response, pilot the survey and explore possible results and consideration for a wider scale survey.”
Nevertheless, these initial results are interesting. Only 15% of respondents thought the current welfare system works well for the UK as a whole. 79% agreed People would do more voluntary or unwaged work if they got a basic income. 81% agreed it should be introduced for every UK citizen. And 85% agreed it would help businesses find temporary and flexible workers.
The author, Jason Leman, has worked in survey design and analysis for over a decade. He has researched political involvement and activity as part of gaining a Masters in Research.
An info graphic with some of the results and a link to the full report can be found at:
Sheffield Equality Group, “Basic Income Survey”, Sheffield Equality Group, April 2014.
The full report is online in PDF format:
Jason Leman, “Exploring a Future Welfare State: A Pilot Survey on the Basic Income.” Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Equality Group, March 2013.
Sheffield Equality Group Survey Results
by Harry Pitts | Jun 8, 2014 | Research
Katarzyna Gajewska, “UBI, Power Relations and Housing Problems”, Basic Income UK: Towards an emancipatory welfare, 14th May 2014.
by Harry Pitts | Jun 3, 2014 | Research
Paulo Rodriguez, ““Who?” and “How?” – What the public thinks of a Basic Income”, Basic Income UK: Towards an emancipatory welfare, 14th May 2014
“Who?” and “How?” – What the public thinks of a Basic Income
