by Josh Martin | Feb 26, 2016 | News
As basic income experiments and pilots continue to garner discussions in countries all around the world, it appears the state of Vermont in the United States is hoping to join the ranks of those interested in conducting further research on the idea.
Representative Susan Davis has submitted bill H.689 to the Vermont General Assembly that calls upon Vermont to establish a Universal Basic Income Commission to evaluate the possible future of a basic income in Vermont. Submitting the bill through the House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs on January 27, Davis hopes the new Universal Basic Income Commission will study and prepare an analysis of the idea in Vermont, including possible funding plans.
The bill is currently in committee, but it calls upon the state government to enact the legislation by July 1, 2016.
To learn more, click here to view the Vermont General Assembly website page for the bill.
by Karl Widerquist | Jun 9, 2014 | News
[Karl Widerquist]
Bernie Sanders, the only socialist in the United States Senate, evaded a question about BIG. The question came up during an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on the popular website, Reddit. During an AMA, a prominent person agrees to be available online for a given period time to and to answer whatever questions Reddit members ask. Although Sanders is known as one of the strongest defenders of the poor in high-level U.S. politics, he would not give a direct answer to the following question asked by Reddit member using the name, LoveAllHarmNone, “What do you think of a Basic Income Guarantee if/when unemployment rises due to automation?”
Bernie Sanders -Wikipedia
Sanders replied, “I think that as a nation we should be deeply troubled by the fact that we have more people living in poverty today than ever before and that millions of seniors are finding it difficult to survive on about $1,200 a month from Social Security. I think we need to take a very hard look at why real income has gone down for millions of Americans despite a huge increase in productivity. In my view, every American is entitled to at least a minimum standard of living. There are different ways to get to that goal, but that’s the goal that we should strive to reach.”
Although some of the comments in the thread expressed frustration at the lack of clarity in the answer, there was no follow up by Sanders.
The entire AMA is online at: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/24zdnn/i_am_senator_bernie_sanders_ivt_ama/
