"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
USBIG NEWSLETTER Vol. 11, No. 55 Winter 2010
USBIG NEWSLETTER
Vol. 11, No. 55 Winter 2010
This is the Newsletter of the USBIG Network (www.usbig.net), which promotes the
discussion of the basic income guarantee (BIG) in the United States. BIG
is a policy that would unconditionally guarantee at least a
subsistence-level income for everyone. If you would like to be added to
or removed from this list please email: Karl@Widerquist.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS APPROACHES FOR THE 13TH BIEN CONGRESS
2. JOINT USBIG/BIEN CANADA CONFERENCE, Montreal April 15-16, 2010
3. EDITORIAL: Ten years of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network
4. COMPETING PROPOSALS TO CHANGE THE RULES OF THE ALASKA PERMANENT FUND DIVIDEND
5. U.S. FEDERAL AND STATE LAWMAKERS CONSIDERING CAP-AND-DIVIDEND
6. IRAN MIGHT BE MOVING TOWARD A BIG
7. THE CLOSE OF NAMIBIA BIG PILOT PROJECT
8. KOREAN BASIC INCOME NETWORK LAUNCHES WITH LARGE INAUGURAL CONFERENCE
9. OTHER BIG NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
10. BASIC INCOME STUDIES HAS BOOKS IN NEED OF REVIEWERS
11. RECENT PUBLICATIONS
12. UPCOMING EVENTS
13. RECENT EVENTS
14. NEW DISCUSSION PAPERS
15. NEW LINKS
16. NEW MEMBERS
17. LINKS AND OTHER INFO
1. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS APPROACHES FOR THE 13TH BIEN CONGRESS
The Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) will hold its thirteenth congress on
June 30, July 1st and 2nd, 2010, at the Faculty of Economics,
Administration and Accounting of the University of Sao Paulo. USBIG is a
national affiliate of BIEN.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil has tentatively agreed to open the Congress.
Presenters at the conference will discuss the prospects for basic income after the
global financial crisis, oil dividends as a source for basic income
funding, basic income in Latin America and the developing world, workers
movements and basic income, and many other topics.
The Congress will include presentations by Senator Eduardo Suplicy (of the Brazilian
Federal Senate); Philippe Van Parijs (of Université Catholique de
Louvain); Guy Standing (of University of Bath and Monash University);
Scott Goldsmith (of Institute of Social and Economic Research at the
University of Alaska Anchorage); Karl Widerquist (Georgetown
University-Qatar); Ruben Lo Vuolo (of REDIAC, the Argentine Citizens'
Income Network); Robert van der Veen (of the University of Amsterdam);
Claus Offe (Hertie School of Governance, Berlin); Bishop Kameeta (of the
Lutheran Church of Namibia) and many others.
The deadline for submission of papers and panel proposals has been extended to April 12th
2010. The full call for papers, details, registration instructions,
preliminary featured speakers, and accommodation are available at the
Congress website: www.bien2010brasil.com.
Information is also available on the BIEN website: www.basicincome.org.
Paper and panel proposals can be submitted on the conference website: www.bien2010brasil.com.
Questions should be sent to: bien2010.organisation@gmail.com
2. JOINT USBIG/BIEN CANADA CONFERENCE, Montreal April 15-16, 2010
“Basic Income at a Time of Economic Upheaval: A Path to Justice and Stability?”
A Joint conference of the USBIG Network and BIEN Canada
Organized by CREUM. Held at McGill University:
Faculty Club, Ole’s, 3450 McTavish Street
Montreal, Quebec 15-16 April 2010
The Ninth Congress of the USBIG Network will be jointly with the newly formed Canadian
network, BIEN Canada. This two-day conference is the first collaboration
between the two North American affiliates of the Basic Income Earth
Network (BIEN). It will focus on the prospects and challenges of a BIG
policy at a time of economic upheaval.
The conference will take place on April 15-16, 2010 at Mcgill University. The chief organizer of
the conference is Jurgen De Wispelaere, of the University of Montreal.
Although the event is cosponsored and organized by the Centre de
Recherche en Ethique de l’Universite de Montreal (CREUM), registration
has been so strong that the event has been moved to a larger venue at
McGill University. Thanks to the larger venue, there is still room to
register.
The conference features speeches by Dr. Louise Haagh (University of York), Prof. Guy Standing (University of Bath), and
Senator Eduardo Suplicy (Sao Paulo, Brazil), as well as a Political
Forum on “The Politics of the Basic Income Guarantee” featuring Senators
Art Eggleton and Hugh Segal, Tony Martin MP, Amélie Châteauneuf
(spokesperson of FCPASQ), Rob Rainer (utive Director of Canada Without
Poverty), Al Sheahen (utive Committee Member of USBIG), and Sheila
Regehr (Director of National Council of Welfare). In addition there will
be 5 panels with more than a dozen papers from scholars and
practitioners discussing a variety of issues related to the prospects
and challenges of introducing a BIG in Canada or the US. Radio CREUM
will be covering the event and broadcast some of the talks as well as
selective interviews, which will also be available on the net as
podcasts.
The full program is now available on the conference website at http://bigmontreal.wordpress.com/.
Everyone is welcome to attend and participation is free. To register for the
conference please contact Jurgen De Wispelaere at
BIGMontreal2010@gmail.com.
3. EDITORIAL: Ten years of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network
This issue, Volume 11, Number 55, marks the tenth anniversary of the USBIG Newsletter. The USBIG Network
began over breakfast at the Kiev diner in New York City in December
1999. Five people attended the first meeting: Fred Block (a sociologist
at University of California-Davis), Charles M.A. Clark (an economist at
St. John’s University), Michael A. Lewis (sociologist, then at State
University of New York-Stony Brook, now at Hunter College), Pam Donavan
(sociologist then at City University of New York-Graduate Center, now at
Bloomsburg University) and me, Karl Widerquist (then an economist at
the Levy Institute of Bard College, now a philosopher at Georgetown
University-Qatar).
Pam Donovan, Michael A. Lewis, and I had been graduate students together at the City University of New York. We used
to meet weekly to discuss our work. Usually we ended up arguing about
politics. One day we discovered that the one policy we could all agree
on was the basic income, and so Michael Lewis and I decided to write a
paper about it. We gradually got involved with the Basic Income European
Network (BIEN), which had been providing a forum for dialogue on basic
income in Europe. There were several natural networks in Europe at the
time, but there was no equivalent in the United States. Through BIEN we
got in touch with Fred Block and Charles M.A. Clark, who had both being
doing research on basic income in the United States.
When Fred Block was in town for a conference, we all decided to meet for
breakfast. There was no agenda or anything, but the next thing I knew we
had decided to create a network, and I had volunteered to write its
newsletter. Ten years later, I’m still writing that newsletter. It began
with a circulation of about 30 people, including the five of us from
the meeting. Since then it has grown to nearly a thousand people.
We called the new organization “the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network,”
(The USBIG Network or just USBIG for short). We chose that name partly
because “basic income guarantee” (BIG) as a generic term that includes
various specific versions, such as “basic income,” “negative income
tax,” and “guaranteed income.” Also, it makes a nice acronym and the
domain name www.usbig.net
was available. We took on only one goal: to increase discussion of the
basic income guarantee in the United States.
We started the network with a small seminar series in New York City in 2000, and in
2002 we began holding yearly conferences. We are now preparing for our
ninth conference, which will be our first joint conference with the new
Canadian basic income network, known as BIEN Canada.
Over the last ten years, interest in the basic income guarantee has grown
steadily around the world. The Basic Income European Network expanded to
become the Basic Income Earth Network, and USBIG became one of its
first non-European affiliates. More books and articles on BIG are
published each year. Basic Income Studies has become the first academic
journal focusing entirely on basic income. Palgrave-MacMillan is now
preparing an entire book series on BIG. The first books in the series
are expected to be released in 2011 or 2012.
The USBIG Network has chosen to remain a nonpartisan discussion group, but there are
political action groups in the United States that are pushing for basic
income as part of their agenda.
BIG occasionally springs up as a live political issue in surprising places. The only existing BIG in the
world, the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, continues to be an enormously
popular policy. Two members of the U.S. House of representatives signed
on to the idea in 2006; several other members of Congress have endorsed
it in roundabout ways—by endorsing a cap-and-dividend or an oil
dividend for Iraq. There are senators pushing for it in Canada and
Brazil. More than two-dozen members of the German Bundestag are
committed to the idea. A Namibian organization has just completed a
two-year pilot project on BIG. And so on. And so on.
Writing the USBIG Newsletter has been an interesting experiment. At first I didn’t
think there could possibly be enough news about BIG to report in regular
issues, but instead I quickly became overwhelmed by how much activity
is going on in the world. Somehow, I’ve managed to condense a
significant portion of it into the Newsletter. Thanks to the miracle of
the internet I’ve been able to work on the USBIG newsletter in New York;
New Orleans; England; the far north of Sweden; Hong Kong; Brazil;
Qatar; and I can’t even remember where else.
On the wh*** I think I’ve kept my reporting accurate, but I can recall a few embarrassing
errors—such as the time I identified a British MP as being from
Australia. I’ve enjoyed reporting on the progress of BIG movements
around the world. I’ve enjoyed meeting all the interesting who work on
this issue. I’ve suffered through writing obituaries for friends I’ve
gotten to know in the movement.
I hope when I look back ten years from now, I’ll remember reporting on the introduction of the world’s
second basic income guarantee, somewhere in the world.
-Karl Widerquist, in flight over the Atlantic, February 24, 2010 (revised,
March 15, 2010, Doha, Qatar)
4. COMPETING PROPOSALS TO CHANGE THE RULES OF THE ALASKA PERMANENT FUND DIVIDEND
Several news organizations are reporting that two members of the Alaska legislature
(Rep. Harry Crawford and Sen. Hollis French, both Democrats) have
proposed a bill to enshrine the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) in the
state constitution. The Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) is already in the
state constitution, but the PFD is not. Conceivably, the legislature
could redirect the fund’s returns to support other government spending.
Crawford and French say that the proposal is motivated by the worry that
the legislature will reduce the dividend to support tax breaks for oil
companies. Any amendment to the Alaska state constitution requires a
two-thirds vote of the state House and Senate and a statewide vote of
the people. The proposal sent off a flurry of op-ed articles on both
sides of the issue.
The recent volatility of the fund and of state government revenues fueled this and other proposals to change the
APF’s rules. The APF reached a total value of over 40 billion dollars
just before the financial crisis of 2008. It then dropped to 26 billion
dollars about the time the market hit bottom in 2009, generating fear
that the APF would not be able to pay dividends in 2009 or 2010. The
fund has since rebounded to about 34.5 billion dollars, largely quieting
fears about the current year’s dividend. However, fears of future
volatility remain, along with fears that a future legislature that might
want to sacrifice a stream of dividends to close a one-time budget gap.
A recent editorial in the Alaska Daily News argued that a better way to
protect the PFD would for the state to inflation-proof it by limiting
the amount of cash that could be used each year to five percent of the
total market value of the APF. Many endowment managers have used this
rule to ensure that their endowment produces a steady long-term flow of
income.
Support for the dividend is so strong that few critics of the amendment say that they want to redirect the fund’s earnings to
something other than the dividend. Occasionally left-of-center voices
portray the dividend as tacit support for Big Oil (see a recent op-ed by
Maureen Suttman), and right-of-center voices portray it as some kind of
socialism. An editor of Britain’s conservative paper, the Telegraph,
accused Sarah Palin of being a “secret socialist” for her (very public)
support of the Alaska Permanent Fund. But few Alaskans of any political
stripe seem to see the APF this way. Overwhelmingly, both Democrats and
Republicans portray the dividend as an equitable way to make sure that
the state’s oil revenues actually do create long-term benefit for all
Alaskans. Opponents of the amendment simply argue that the dividend does
not need to be enshrined in the constitution to protect it from
legislators who might want to redirect funds elsewhere.
Yet, a movement to redirect the earning of the APF to other uses is currently
underway in the legislature. According to the Alaska Dispatch, House
Speaker Mike Chenault (Republican) has recently introduced a bill to use
some of the APF’s earnings for construction of a natural gas pipeline.
The idea is to put a nonbinding resolution before the voters that would
authorize the legislature to use any money leftover in the fund (after
paying the dividend and inflation proofing the fund) for pipeline
construction.
The APF has never been used this way before. Any money leftover after inflation proofing has previously been reinvested
into the fund, increasing its value and leading to larger dividends in
the future. Therefore Chenault’s proposal will lead to smaller future
dividends than if the APF remained on its present course. Support for
Chenault’s proposal has so far been divided along party lines, with
Republicans for and Democrats against.
Recent articles on the APF:
Permanent fund looks back on profitable year
Pat Forgey, February 25, 2010, Juneau Empire
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/022510/loc_567525884.shtml
Permanent Fund gas pipeline ballot measure won't provide clear answer
Dermot Cole, Daily News Miner
http://newsminer.com/pages/full_story/push?blog-entry-Permanent+Fun...
Should the Permanent Fund bankroll a gas line?
Rena Delbridge, Alaska Dispatch, Feb 8, 2010
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/politics/3935-should-the-p...
PFD checks aren't worth the price we pay
Maureen Suttman, COMPASS: Other points of view, Alaska Daily News, January 23, 2010
http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1107444.html
Is Sarah Palin a secret socialist?
Damian Thompson, The Telegraph, November 14th, 2009:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100016825/is-sarah...
Politics, economy fuel Permanent Fund debate
Rena Delbridge, Alaska Dispatch, February 11, 2010
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/politics/3706-politics-eco...
Endowment model covers inflation, provides dividend
Alaska Daily News
http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/1086508.html
Permanent Fund may be part of Alaska constitution
The Associated Press; reported in the Alaska Daily News
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/1081315.html
Lawmakers hope to write PFD into Alaska's Constitution
Ted Land, KTUU-TV
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=11775512
Our View: Keep PFD where it is
Alaska Daily News editorial, January 7, 2010
http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/1084212.html
Comment: PFD needs to be put into constitution
John Havelock, former Alaska Attorney General, the Alaska Daily News
http://www.adn.com/opinion/comment/havelock/story/1095840.html
State Constitution not right place for dividend
Ben Brown, The Alaska Observer, January 11, 2010
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/011110/opi_545486290.shtml
Empire editorial: PFD hyperbole
Juneau Empire, January 10, 2010
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/011010/opi_544924604.shtml
Permanent Fund has poor year
Anchorage Daily News, January 30, 2010
http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/1116958.html
5. U.S. FEDERAL AND STATE LAWMAKERS CONSIDERING CAP-AND-DIVIDEND
The cap-and-dividend approach to greenhouse gas emissions is receiving
serious attention by lawmakers in the U.S. Congress and in the
California state legislature. Under cap-and-dividend, the government
auctions off rights to release limited amounts of greenhouse gases and
uses (some or all of) the revenue to finance a dividend. The strategy
can be a weak or strong approach to global warming depending on how many
permits the government chooses to auction off and on whether it covers
all or only some greenhouse gases. The dividend is, of course, a small
basic income guarantee, although it is usually justified not for its own
sake but as a way to ensure that carbon taxes are not a drag on the
economy or on the most vulnerable individuals. The inclusion of BIG in
cap-and-dividend has given it sudden political viability.
Senators Maria Cantwell (Democrat of Washington) and Susan Collins (Republican
of Maine) have recently introduced a cap-and-dividend bill under the
name of the CLEAR Act. According to the Sightline institute, the bill
has the following features:
- “A solid reduction target: 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent below by 2050.”
- “Full auctioning”
- “Individuals are directly rebated with three-quarters of the auction proceeds.”
- “Details are in short supply when it comes to enacting a border-adjustment tariff (to prevent
industrial "leakage") and for spending money on reductions outside the
cap, as well as for adaptation, international assistance, worker
transition, energy efficiency, and other programs.”
- “A price ceiling, … The bill does include provisions to offset permits that are
issued beyond those allowed by the cap, but the details are sketchy.”
At the same time, California's Economic and Allocation Advisory Committee
has released a draft report recommending a cap-and-dividend program for
California. The report recommends that “the largest share (roughly 75%)
of allowance value should be returned to California households either
through tax rate cuts or via lump-sum transfers, with a smaller share
(roughly 25%) used to finance socially beneficial investments and public
expenditures.” (p.69). The EAAC estimates that if 80% of auction
revenues were returned to Californians, an individual’s 2012 dividend
would be US$103, rising to US$276 by 2020.
Related links:
The following website has a short story on the CLEAR Act and a long list of
links to related stories:
http://www.carbonshare.org/newsnatl.html
Sightline Daily has a mixed evaluation of the CLEAR Act:
“Cantwell's Cap-and-Trade Bill: Almost Genius,” Posted by Alan Durning and Eric de
Place, 12/11/2009:
http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2009/12/11/almost-ge...
Details for the California proposal are online at:
http://climatechange.ca.gov/eaac/
A Los Angeles Times report on the California proposal is online at:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/01/cap-and-trade-ca...
-From BIEN
Wall Street Journal article on the California proposal, “California Ties Cash to Energy,” by Rebecca Smith and Keith Johnson,
January 12, 2010:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126325739326825569.html?mod=WSJ_hpp...
6. IRAN MIGHT BE MOVING TOWARD A BIG
Overshadowed by the recent turmoil in Iran, the government has been making strong moves toward
introducing something very much like a basic income guarantee. According
to Hamid Tabatabai, of the International Labor organization, “In
January 2010, the Majles (Iran’s parliament) adopted a far-reaching law
that progressively replaces subsidies on energy and basic goods with
direct cash transfers to the population. The subsidies run into tens of
billions of dollars annually, mostly on fuel, and benefit the richer
strata of society more than others. Half of the proceeds will be passed
on directly to the people through their bank accounts, with the rest
used to boost the development of agriculture and industry and strengthen
the country’s social security system. Estimated at some 10 to 20
billion dollars in the first year, the transfers would be unconditional,
i.e. without any quid pro quo, and universal, except for households who
opt out by failing to provide the needed information about their
composition and socioeconomic status. In setting the amount of the
transfer to each household the law requires consideration of household
income but the most important factor is likely to be the household size.
Implementation will begin in spring 2010 and take five years.”
Cash transfers are not new in Iran; a variety of programs have been in place
for years, but many Iranians, including many in government, see that
too much of the benefit of existing programs goes to already well off
people. According to Tabatabai, “the concept of a universal,
unconditional and regular cash grants emerges almost seamlessly as a
by-product of an attempt to address the shortcomings of the present
system. However, even if a BIG proves to be a logical and feasible
proposition from economic and social perspectives, its prospects would
depend on how the subject is broached and argued in the highly charged
political environment in the country.”
The situation is developing rapidly as the content and implementation strategies of
reforms are being worked out. Tabatabai will present a paper on the
Iranian situation at the Thirteenth BIEN Congress in Sao Paulo this
June.
7. THE CLOSE OF NAMIBIA BIG PILOT PROJECT
The Namibian Basic Income Grant Pilot Project has come to its conclusion,
the BIG (Basic Income Grant) Coalition announced recently. After two
years of successful implementation, the last payout took place in
December 2009. According to the coalition, the results of the pilot
project have proven the effectiveness of a BIG to fight poverty, foster
social development and kick-start local economic development. The impact
of the BIG was nothing short of spectacular: Poverty levels and child
malnutrition declined dramatically, while school attendance and
utilization of the local clinic improved. Likewise, economic activities
increased significantly while crime levels dropped.
Based on the findings in Omitara, the Coalition is convinced that a national BIG
will benefit Namibians in all regions of the country. It is, the
Coalition argues, both beneficial and affordable and its implementation
is thus a question of political will. The drawings of the school
children bear witness to the tangible changes in people's lives.
The BIG Coalition has noted with disappointment that despite the impressive
results of the BIG pilot project in Otjivero-Omitara, the Namibian
Government has not yet committed itself to the introduction of the
country-wide BIG. According to the BIG Coalition, the delay in the
national implementation is hurting the poor in general and the residents
of Otjivero-Omitara in particular.
The BIG Coalition decided that it could not stand by and let the residents slide back into the
dehumanising levels of poverty that they experienced before the BIG was
introduced two years ago. Thus, while demanding the implementation of
the BIG nationwide, it will utilise a 'bridging allowance' to tie over
the households for the time being. This is not a solution but merely a
'stop-gap measure' which cannot replace the BIG. The
'bridging-allowance' is limited to the participants of the pilot and
limitations thereof both of the value of support to the individual as
well as to the community are acknowledged. The welfare of the country's
citizens is the responsibility of the Government. During the next one to
two years the Coalition expects the Government to introduce the BIG
nationwide, which will make the bridging allowance superfluous.
The pilot project has gained worldwide publicity and is part of the global
discussion on new approaches in development. In fact, Namibia has been
put on the world map because of the people of Otjivero-Omitara. They
have shown the world what can be done with very little money, and that
it is based on a human rights approach, a philosophy of equality and a
theology of dignity.
Recently, the BBC reported directly from the BIG Pilot Project in Otjivero-Omitara. It was part of the BBC series "A
dollar a day".
-FROM BIEN
For further information about the BIG Pilot Project see:
BBC Doc**entary:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/doc**entaries/2009/11/091110_doll...
The Namibian BIG Coalition website: http://www.bignam.org/
“Curtain comes down on Otjivero BIG”
Toivo Ndjebela, November 24, 2009, New Era, Windhoek
http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=8482
‘Fair government will rule for a long time’
Irene !Hoaes, November 20, 2009, New Era Windhoek
http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=8426
8. KOREAN BASIC INCOME NETWORK LAUNCHES WITH LARGE INAUGURAL CONFERENCE
South Korea has a new basic income network. According to BIEN, the idea of a
basic income took off in Korea only a few years ago, when Koreans with
connections in Paris and Berlin discovered and reported back home that
the leftist Italian philosopher Toni Negri and the wealthy German
businessman Gotz Werner both defended an unconditional basic income.
Google soon entered into action, and by 2006 the ramifications of BIEN's
network were being explored, and BIS articles downloaded. In 2006,
Kwack No-Wan, a left-wing philosopher at the University of Seoul
published an article in which he critically discussed the international
theoretical literature on basic income and formulated a proposal for its
implementation in South Korea. This spread the idea in Seoul's
left-wing community. The Socialist Party (a left-wing party founded in
1998) took it up, and so did, for example, the University teachers'
Trade Union. A network was formed in February 2009, and several books
and pamphlets have now been published, including, most recently, a
Korean translation of Redesigning Distribution (by Ackerman, Alstott
& Van Parijs).
According to BIEN, hundreds of people gathered on January 27-28 at the heart of the world's third biggest metropolis
for two intense days of lectures and discussions entirely devoted to the
proposal of an unconditional basic income. Hosted by Sogang University,
the meeting was an impressively organized joint venture of several
Seoul-based universities, a number of left-wing associations, and
Korea's small Socialist Party.
The first day ("Basic Income for All!") was intended primarily for an activist audience. It started with
opening addresses by Kang Nam-Hoon (Hanshin University), one of the
first Korean scholars to become actively interested in basic income, and
Philippe Van Parijs (Louvain & Harvard), chair of BIEN's
international board, and gave the audience an overview of the state of
the basic income discussion in Japan (by Toru Yamamori, Doshisha
University in Kyoto and coordinator of Japan's basic income network),
Brazil (by Eduardo Suplicy, federal senator and honorary co-chair of
BIEN) and Germany (by Ronald Blaschke, parliamentary assistant for the
party Die Linke at the Bundestag, and co-founder of Germany's basic
income network), as well as several contributions by Choi Gwang-Eun
(representative of the Socialist Party and author of a Master's thesis
on basic income) and others about how basic income could fit into the
Korean context.
The second day ("Sustainable Utopia and Basic Income in a Global Era") was intended primarily for an academic
audience. Contributions covered, among other themes, the relations
between basic income and conditional guaranteed income schemes
(Blaschke), disability pensions (Choi), migration (Van Parijs), single
mothers (Yamamori) and investment in human capital (Neantro Saavedra,
University of Tsukuba, JP), the "glocal agora" (Kwack No-Wan, University
of Seoul), the impact a basic income would have on the distribution of
income (Baek Seung-Ho, Catholic University, Seoul) and capital formation
(Ahn Hyun-Hyo, Daegu University) in Korea. The conference ended with a
very lively panel discussion which Senator Suplicy concluded, as only he
can do, by getting the audience to sing "Blowing in the Wind".
All the papers presented were available in advance in both Korean and
English in the form of two hefty volumes (600 pages in all). The
conference was also the occasion to present to the press a very eloquent
"Seoul Declaration on Basic Income" signed by over six hundred
academics and activists. And the foreign speakers (Suplicy, Van Parijs,
Blaschke, Yamamori) were dispatched the following day to address
seminars, student audiences and activist groups in various places
throughout the city (Gyeongsang National University, Seoul National
University, Socialist Party, New Progressive Party, Alternative Forum,
Academia Communix, etc.).
9. OTHER BIG NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
LYBIA: Mouammar Kadhafi pledges to abolish oil ministry and distribute revenues directly to the people
According to Knight Ridder, the Libyan dictator, Colonel Mouammar Kadhafi has pledged to
abolish the oil ministry and distribute oil revenues directly to the
people. Kadhafi said, according to Reuters, "All citizens have the right
to benefit from the oil funds. They should take the money and do
whatever they want with it." He said that the committees that run the
oil ministry and other government agencies have failed. "These
committees will be replaced spontaneously by real committees to be
created everywhere by citizens. Citizens will get part of the oil
revenue directly. They don't need intermediaries." How these citizen
committees will be able to distribute money directly to the people is
unclear. Khadafi has made similar statements in the past, and so we
should not necessarily expect the creation of a Libyan oil dividend to
be imminent.
For more on this issue, see:
Ministries Abolished, Oil Revenues to be Distributed to Libyans
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Monday, March 03, 2008
http://libcom.org/forums/news/libya-abolish-most-ministries-oil-rev...
NEW ZEALAND: Proposal for a BIG funded by capital taxation
According to the New Zealand Herald, “Economist and fund manager Gareth Morgan, who
is a member of the Tax Working Group, has proposed a radical tax
restructure to the group's final public conference that would impose a
Comprehensive Capital Tax (CCT) on all land, buildings, plant and
equipment to raise NZ$19 billion. This money would then be used to
create a flat income tax rate of 25% on all corporate, personal and
trust income. It would also be used to provide each adult with a
NZ$10,000 guaranteed minimum income to replace all benefits”
The Herald article is online at:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&obje...
A video of the proposal is online at:
http://www.3news.co.nz/Gareth-Morgans-radical-tax-overhaul/tabid/36...
A blog about the proposal is online at:
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/guranteed-minimum-income-capital-tax-...
ARGENTINA: possibly moving toward a basic income for children
Several political actors have recently expressed (cautious) support for the idea of a
basic income for children. The Argentinean government issued Decree
number 1602 entitled “Universal Assignment for children as a social
protection policy” (doc**ent available at www.ingresociudadano.org).
On November 11, 2009, the Argentinian basic income network Red
Argentina de Ingreso Ciudadano published the doc**ent “Assignment for
children and Basic Income” with a critical a****sment of the
governmental measure. The newly established “Universal Assignment” takes
a different approach compared with the Conditional Cash Transfer
Programs in many Latin American countries. It pays an allowance to most
parents with children under 18 years of age who are unemployed or work
in the informal sector. Even when there are some conditions regarding
parent income (which should not be over the minimum wage), school
registration, health checks, etc., that reduce the universality of the
benefit, the government projects to pay from 4 to 5 million benefits
(covering about 70/80% of children with no benefits from previously
existing family allowances). The measure was the governmental response
to pressures from civil society and some opposition parties who had long
demanded a universal and unconditional basic income for children. In
this sense, it could be considered a first step to other programmes
moving in the direction of a true basic income.
Within the framework of this ongoing discussion on universal child benefits, one should also
mention the two following bill proposals: “Basic Income for Children and
Teenagers”, bill proposal presented by Silvia Ausburger, Member of
Parliament (Partido Socialista); “Basic Income for Citizenship”, bill
proposal presented by Jose Antonio Artusi, Member of Parliament (Unión
Cívica Radical).
For further information: www.ingresociudadano.org
-From BIEN
ZIMBABWE: Alaska-style dividend proposed for Zimbabwe’s diamond mines
An editorial in a government-sponsored newspaper, reprinted by AllAfrica.com, discusses how Zimbabwe create an
Alaska-style dividend out of revenue from Zimbabwe’s new diamond mines.
The article discusses the resource curse through the example of
Nigeria’s oil. It suggests that the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend is
one of the reasons Alaska has avoided the resource curse. The article is
online at: http://allafrica.com/stories/200912110512.html
BELGIUM: Socialist Party advocates a basic income for seniors
On February 8, 2010, the Flemish Socialist Party (SPA) published its (still
provisional) plan for a fundamental reform of Belgium's pension system.
It attracted a lot of media attention. Among the remarkable features of
the plan is the idea to implement a federal guaranteed basic pension
(so-called Gewaarborgd Pensioen in Dutch). It would amount to paying a
monthly basic income to all individuals when they reach retirement age.
According to the plan, this basic pension "needs to be disconnected from
previous individual labour productivity". It would be funded through
the income tax, rather than through social contributions. The plan was
designed under the leadership of former Federal Minister for Pensions
Bruno Tobback. The Flemish Socialist Party is part of the coalition in
power in the Flemish region, but not at the Federal level.
SP.A website: http://www.s-p-a.be/
Pension plan (in Dutch): http://www.s-p-a.be/common/showdoc**ent.asp?iID=5117
Newspaper articles:
'SP.A heeft eigen pensioenplan', De Standaard, Feb. 9, 2010, www.standaard.be
'Sp.a wil aanvullend pensioen voor alle werknemers', De Morgen, Feb. 9, 2010, www.demorgen.be
-From BIEN
LUXEMBOURG: First public event for basic income group in Luxembourg:
On September 29th, 2009, the Luxembourg basic income group had its first
public event. In the course of the exhibit "Colors of Money", the group
invited interested participants to a discussion about basic income. The
organizers themselves were surprised by the fact that there was quite a
crowd in the room. As a warm up, the film "Kulturimpuls Grundeinkommen"
from Daniel Häni and Enno Schmidt was shown. The lively discussion that
followed allowed many participants to share their thoughts and opinions
on the advantages and disadvantages of basic income for the tiny and
open economy of Luxembourg. Probably one of the most interesting and
challenging aspects of Luxembourg – from a basic income perspective – is
the composition of its active population, since roughly a third of it
lives in neighbor countries. The residency criterion that is the
standard rule to grant a basic income might cause a huge uproar among
cross-border commuters, and as such it should be applied carefully. For
example it could be paid out in the form of a complimentary regional
currency. An alternative would be a basic income implemented
simultaneously in the neighboring countries. On the other hand, this
cross-border issue brought one of Luxembourg's strong points to the
forefront: its highly international environment, and its ability to
bring people from many different cultures together. The group is already
in contact with initiatives from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and
Switzerland. Prior to the discussion event and ever since the group
managed to stay in the news, through radio interviews, press articles
and a 15-minute TV magazine. On January 8th, 2010 a constituent meeting
is planned where the final name and short- and medium-term goals will be
discussed. Further information, including the links to all activities,
is available at www.grondakommes.lu.
-From BIEN
NEW ZEALAND: Democrats for Social Credit endorse a new Financial Plan
Democrats for Social Credit, a small political party in New Zealand, has endorsed a new plan for financial reform, which
includes a basic income scheme called “Kiwi Income”. During their annual
conference in September 2009, DSC delegates approved a 7 point plan to
reform the “inherently unstable” financial system. According to DSC’s
Press Release, “this is achieved by replacing toxic debt-based
commercial bank credit with social credit. The issue of social credit
will be the sole means of money coming into existence and continuing to
exist – and will be issued in the public interest, to serve the common
good”. A new ‘New Zealand Monetary Authority (NZMA)’ will be established
as the only institution with the power to create, issue, and cancel New
Zealand’s money. “Debt free money will be made available by NZMA to the
New Zealand Government to fund “Kiwi Income” (KI), in the form of a
national dividend to every resident New Zealander. NZMA will also be
able to fund Health, Education and Environmental projects - in ways that
decrease the call on family incomes.” For further information:
http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/MediaReleases/tabid/111/selecte...
-From BIEN
UKRAINE: Towards the first affiliate network of BIEN in Eastern Europe?
On September 16th, 2009, the first international symposium about Basic Income took place in Kyiv in Ukrainian and
Russian. This event was made possible by a donation from Germany within
the international “Week of Basic Income.” A wider debate is hoped for
with the aim to found a Ukrainian/Eastern European network to serve as a
regional affiliate of BIEN. There have been contacts made with
universities and other organizations, that are interested in Basic
Income and that have asked for lectures. The web-site http://bod.in.ua (in English, German,
Ukrainian and Russian) contains texts of the speeches given at the
symposium, and further information about Basic Income – including
reports about the discussion in some countries, which already have
affiliates of BIEN. There are also videos on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/BODinUA
These are the first sources within the former Soviet Union providing
information about Basic Income in Slavic languages. Everybody is invited
to support this network with articles, opinions, statements or other
resources. For further information, please contact:
joerg.drescher@iovialis.org
-From BIEN
BRAZIL: ReCivitas reports on its consortium Basic Income Of Citizenship At Quatinga Velho,
Mogi Das Cruzes, Sao Paulo (state), Brazil.
On the 25th of October 2008 the Instituto pela Revitalização da Cidadania, in the small
community of Quatinga Velho at the municipality of Mogi das Cruzes,
ReCivitas began an independent a pilot project in the Basic Income of
Citizenship (BIC) in line with the principles of universality and
unconditionality. The organizers hope that the experience of this
project will help educate the public about BIC, paid monthly, in cash,
to all local residents, at any time they wish to participate in the
project, without any discrimination or requirement to reciprocate. The
project is financed by a consortium of Natural Persons formed
exclusively for this purpose The project which was originally expected
to last for one year and pay a monthly amount of R$30,00 to 27 members
of this community. In November of 2009, at the meeting to present the
results of first year of experience, the consortium decided to continue
the project for another year. After 15 months, the project pays
unconditional income to 67 residents of Quatinga Velho. For more
information, or instructions on how to donate, contact:
recivitas@recivitas.org.br
BRAZIL: Workers Party puts BIG in its platform for the upcoming elections
The Partido dos Trabalhadores (the Workers Party) held its Fourth National Congress on February
19-21. All 1350 delegates, by unanimity, approved a guideline as part of
the Presidential Program of their candidate Dilma Rousseff. This
guideline includes the following endorsement of BIG: “The expansion and
the strengthening of the popular consumption goods market, that produces
strong positive impact on the set of productive sector, will be
attained by: … (h) permanent improvement of the income transfers
program, as Bolsa Familia, to eradicate hunger and poverty, to
facilitate population access to employment, education, health and better
income; (g) transition from the Bolsa Família Program to the Citizen´s
Basic Income – CBI, unconditional, as a right of everyone to participate
in the wealth of the nation, as foreseen in Law 10.853/2004, an
initiative by PT, approved by all parties of the National Congress and
sanctioned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on January 8th, 2004.”
10. BASIC INCOME STUDIES HAS BOOKS IN NEED OF REVIEWERS
Basic Income Studies (BIS) is the first academic journal dedicated to research on
basic income. It includes research articles, notes, debates, and book
reviews on all aspects of primary research related to basic income.
Right now BIS has several books in need of reviewers, including:
- Van Donselaar, Gijs. 2009. The Right to Exploit: Parasitism, Scarcity,
Basic Income. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Saba Marco. 2009. Moneta Nostra - Extracting a Basic Income from Seigniorage (in Italian).
Internet. Available online (PDF) at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/20265666/Moneta-Nostra
- Prabhakar, Rajiv. 2008. The Assets Agenda: Principles and Policy. London: Palgrave-MacMillan.
- Stricker, Frank. 2007. Why America Lost the War on Poverty...and How to
Win It, Chapel Hill, NC: the University of North Carolina Press. 360
pages.
- Blackburn, Robin. 2006. Age Shock: How Finance is Failing Us. London: Verso.
- Prabhakar, Rajiv. 2003. Stakeholding and New Labour. Basinstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan.
- Schroeder, Doris. 2000. Work Incentives and Welfare Provision: The 'pathological' theory of
unemployment. Aldershot: Ashgate.
More books will be in soon. If you are interested in reviewing a book for BIS, please contact one of
the editors, Karl Widerquist
karl@widerquist.com
and Jurgen De Wispelaere
jurgen.dewispelaere@gmail.com
11. RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Widerquist, Karl. “The Physical Basis of Voluntary Trade,” Human Rights Review, March 2010, Vol. 11 Issue 1, p83-103
Abstract: The article discusses the conditions under which can we say that people
enter the economic system voluntarily. “The Need for an Exit Option”
briefly explains the philosophical argument that voluntary interaction
requires an exit option—a reasonable alternative to participation in the
projects of others. “The Treatment of Effective Forced Labor in
Economic and Political Theory” considers the treatment of effectively
forced interaction in economic and political theory. “Human Need”
discusses theories of human need to determine the capabilities a person
requires to have an acceptable exit option. “Capability in Cash, Kind,
or Raw Resources” considers what form access to that level of capability
should take—in cash, kind, or raw resources, concluding that a basic
income guarantee is the most effective method to ensure an exit option
in a modern, industrial economy.
Stricker, Frank, Why America Lost the War on Poverty...and How to Win It, UNC Press 2007.
This book mainly focuses on creating jobs as a solution to poverty, but it
has 19 indexed-reference pages to a Guaranteed Income, including an
8-page analysis of what killed the Family Assistance Plan (Richard
Nixon’s watered-down negative income tax proposal). The final chapter on
"What Needs to Be Done," lists 17 recommendations. Number 13 is "Start
Planning for an American Minimum Income." The book is 360 pages, with
illustrations, tables, and appendix, covering the 1950s to the present.
It is published (Sept. 2007) by the University of North Carolina Press
in Chapel Hill, NC. $19.95. The Author, Frank Sticker, is a professor
of history at California State University, Dominguez Hills. According to
the Journal of Social History, "What is most powerful about Stricker's
overview is how he consistently presents the political and economic
decisions that have sustained poverty over a half century.”
Podcast of the Sunday Edition show on BIG, October 18, 2009
According to BIEN Canada, on October 18, 2009, CBC Radio’s "The Sunday Edition" aired
a show about poverty, guaranteed income, and the Dauphin Mincome
experiment. The guests interviewed by Michael Enright were Senator Hugh
Segal, Ron Hikel (utive Director of Mincome), and Dr. Evelyn Forget
(University of Manitoba).
A podcast of the show is available at:
http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/listen_stream.html#
click on October 18, 2009
An interview on basic income in Gara (Basque Country, Spain)
In the framework of the IXth Symposium of the Spanish basic income network Red Renta Basica, which was held in Bilbao
on November 19-21, 2009, Yannick Vanderborght (BIEN & Louvain
University) was interviewed by Juanjo Basterra
from the newspaper Gara. Available at: http://www.gara.net/paperezkoa/20091126/168834/es/Con/la/renta/basi...
Basic Income for All! and Sustainable Utopia and Basic Income in a Global
Era: Proceedings of the Seoul Basic Income International Conference 2010
Basic Income Korean Network
Seoul: Seoul National University, 302pp. and 337pp. http://basicincome.kr/
These two volumes include the proceedings (in English and Korean) of a
Conference held in Seoul on 27-28 January 2010. Among the authors are
Ronald Blaschke, Eduardo Suplicy, Yamamori Toru, Philippe Van Parijs
(with Y. Vanderborght) and several Korean scholars.
-From BIEN
Steiner, Hillel. 2009. “Left Libertarianism and the Ownership of Natural
Resources.” Public Reason 1 (1): 1-8.
The author concludes (among other things), “if we hold that anyone claiming ownership over some bits
of nature must leave ‘enough and as good for others’, we’re led by a
series of plausible steps to the conclusion that, in a fully
appropriated world, each person is entitled to an equal portion of the
value of these bits of nature. That is, all owners of natural resources
must pool the value of what they own in a fund - ultimately a global
fund - to an equal portion of which everyone everywhere has a moral
right. In that sense, our just rights to natural resources entitle each
of us to what has come to be called an ‘unconditional basic income’ or,
non-paternalistically, an unconditional initial capital grant.”
According to the author, the right to this claim is not “a basic
positive right,” which can be interpreted to men that it is a right
derived from the negative right to be free from interference.
Rethinking Poverty. Report on the World Situation 2010
United Nations (2009), New York: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Available online (PDF) at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/rwss/docs/2010/fullreport.pdf
Chapter 8 of this official report includes a discussion of conditional vs.
unconditional cash transfers, and some positive features of universal
transfers are stressed: "... Given some of the problems associated with
conditionality and targeting, the question whether direct cash grants to
people living in poverty should be universal and/or unconditional has
been raised. ... In case of emergency, it is possible to institute
universal cash transfer schemes such as a basic income grant with no
conditions. Critics of such program argue that a basic income grant
reduces total employment in an economy by reducing labor supply and the
willingness to work by raising the acceptable wage floor. However, in
developing countries, the availability of basic income grants may
increase productivity and help smooth consumption. For example, income
grants reduce the need for workers to send remittances to their
families, thus increasing the wage available for their own consumption,
or for skills upgrading. This, in turn, could increase productivity
through better health and human resources outcomes. Higher productivity
will increase overall output and labour demand. If a basic income grant
is successful in boosting long-term growth, the fiscal burden of the
transfer would be reduced. The issue of whether a basic income grant can
serve as a key intervention for poverty reduction has been debated in
the case of South Africa" (pp.141-142).
-From BIEN
The New Economics Foundation, “The Great Transition” The New Economics
Foundation, October 19, 2009
In their recent report The Great Transition, the New Economics Foundation argues that a complete
restructuring of society and the economy is required. In particular the
authors recommend 'the creation of Citizens' Endowments of up to £25,000
for all people on reaching the age of 21 to enable them to invest in
their future, as well as Community Endowments to provide commonly owned
assets to invest in our local neighborhoods. Both would be funded by a
proposed increase in inheritance tax on all estates to 67%.'
www.neweconomics.org/publications/great-transition
-From the Citizens Income Trust
Burczak, Theodore (2009), ‘Why Austrian Socialism’, The Review of Austrian Economics, 22 (3), September
2009, pp.297-300.
This article is part of a symposium on Burczak’s book Socialism After Hayek (published in 2006 by The University of
Michigan Press). The central thesis defended in this short paper is that
socialist objectives can be achieved in a market context with the rule
of law if market socialism were to take the form of competitive
worker-owned and self-managed enterprises, supplemented by universally
available welfare redistributions, which could include a basic income,
universal capital grants, or education and health insurance vouchers.
-From BIEN
Kirchgässner, Gebhard (2009), ‘Critical Analysis of Some Well-Intended Proposals to Fight Unemployment’, Analyse & Kritik 31
(1), 2009, pp.25-48.
In this paper it is asked whether it is meaningful to state a ‘right to work’ as a basic human right to be
written down in the constitution, for example, whether working time
should generally be reduced, and whether those who do not have (or find)
a job should get a guaranteed minimal income. The author argues that
all three demands have to be rejected, at least in the radical form in
which they are often stated. They cannot be realized at all or at least
not without impairing other basic human rights. Finally, it is asked
what can be retained from these (usually well-intended) demands.
Journal’s website : http://www.analyse-und-kritik.net/
-From BIEN
Moss, Todd and Lauren Young (2009), 'Saving Ghana from Its Oil: The Case for
Direct
Cash Distribution', Washington DC, Center for Global Development Working Paper, issue
186, October 2009, available at http://www.cgdev.org/
Offe, Claus (2009), ‘Basic Income and the Labor Contract’, Analyse &
Kritik 31 (1), 2009,
pp.25-48.
The paper starts by exploring the negative contingencies that are associated with the core institution of
capitalist societies, the labor contract: unemployment, poverty, and
denial of autonomy. It argues that these are the three conditions that
basic income schemes can help prevent. Next, the three major normative
arguments are discussed that are raised by opponents of basic income
proposals: the idle should not be rewarded, the prosperous don’t need
it, and there are so many things waiting to be done in the world. After
demonstrating that proponents of basic income stand in no way
empty-handed when facing these objections, a third part considers basic
income in functional terms: would its introduction help to resolve
problems of social and economic order that are unlikely to be resolved
in more conventional ways? This paper is an expanded version of what
appeared under the same title in Basic Income Studies 3(1), April 2008.
Journal’s website : http://www.analyse-und-kritik.net/.
Standing, Guy (2009), Work after Globalization. Building Occupational
Citizenship, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar
In this new book, Guy Standing has refined ideas he has been making since the inception of BIEN, seeing
basic income as part of a progressive strategy to replace social
democracy. The book emphasises that in a globalised society, tertiary
work styles are becoming the norm, in which forms of work other than
labour are taking up an increasing proportion of time. In that reality,
conventional social security is woefully inappropriate. Globalisation,
tertiary labour and labour flexibility policies have generated a new
class, the global precariat, which is not just in short-term jobs but is
living an existence without solid identity or a coherent sense of
social solidarity. Unless its insecurities, needs and aspirations are
addressed, the precariat will opt for political extremism. Yet, even
since the financial crisis, chronic inequality is not being addressed.
To combat this, and the growing amount of work-for-labour, a basic
income is essential to give security to the precariat. Standing argues
that a feature of modern consumerism, with its squeeze on time, is a
loss of leisure, as defined by public participation in society. He
concludes that the only form of ‘conditionality’ that could be morally
acceptable as a way of legitimising basic income is that people as
citizens agree to vote and to participate in political activity in some
way. In this, he differs from the view of Tony Atkinson, since the
community labour that Atkinson advocates would have distortionary
effects in the labour market. A basic income linked to participation in
civil and political society would be a way of combating the political
vacuum that is a true crisis in the making. The book, “Work after
Globalisation: Building occupational citizenship” can be purchased at a
discount price via GuyStanding@standingnet.com. See the flyer at http://www.basicincome.org/bien/pdf/Standing_Flyer.pdf.
Tomlinson, John (2009), 'The Northern Territory In(ter)vasion', On Line Opinion.
Australia’s e-journal of social and political debate, 14 October 2009,
available at http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=9558
This article looks at the Australian Federal Government’s intervention into
Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory which involves
suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act, the quarantining of half of
Aboriginal people’s welfare payments for approved purposes and a school
attendance requirement, and comparing that with the Namibian Basic
Income Grant.
-From BIEN
Vanderborght, Yannick and Philippe Van Parijs (2009), 'Basic Income as a way of tackling poverty', ENARgy,
Newsletter of the European Network Against Racism, November 2009, issue
30, pp.10-11. Available at http://www.enar-eu.org/.
This issue of ENAR's Newsletter is entirely devoted to the 2010 European
Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. In their short
contribution, Vanderborght & Van Parijs give an overview of the
reasons why basic income can be seen as an effective measure against
poverty. In the last paragraph, they briefly argue in favour of a
Euro-Dividend, which "might initially take the form of universal child
benefits financed at the EU level".
-From BIEN
Johan Ramakers, “Fighting a Jobless Recovery on a Micro Level, Part 4”
Searchamelia.com, December 13, 2009
http://www.searchamelia.com/2009/12/13/part-4-fighting-a-jobless-re...
This article argues that the question for the near future is not how we can
create more jobs. “The real question becomes how to pass on the
financial accomplishment and productivity of automation, robotics, nano
technology and artificial intelligence to a population as a basic
income.” Ranmakers writes, “Three movements to reward people have been
analyzed as potential: a gift economy, a resource-based economy, and a
guaranteed basic income economy. All three systems are being
experimented with in the more progressive societies around the world.”
Young Margot & Mulvale, James P. (2009), ‘Possibilities and Prospects:
The Debate Over a Guaranteed Income’, Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives, CCPA paper, November 2009.
The idea of a guaranteed income has a long and respectable history in Canadian political and
economic thought. Recently, in the face of both wide criticism of the
Canadian income security system and growing recognition of the
unacceptability of current poverty rates, there has been a resurgence in
calls for implementation of a Canadian guaranteed income. But the idea
is a controversial one; progressive activists, academics, and
politicians disagree about the desirability and the practicality of a
guaranteed income. This report traces the history of guaranteed income
proposals in Canada, reviews the arguments in favor and against, and
suggests a number of other social welfare measures that should be
central elements of any reform program, but that guaranteed income
debates often ignore. Available online at http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/possibilities...-
prospects
-From BIEN
The Citizen’s Income Trust, The Citizen’s Income Newsletter Issue 1, 2010
The latest issue of the CIT Newsletter contains, A progress report, News, a conference announcement, a review article on
Wilkinson and Pickett’s The Spirit Level, and book reviews. It is online
at www.citizensincome.org.
Social Justice Ireland, “Policy Briefing,” February 2010
http://www.socialjustice.ie/content/policy-briefing-poverty-februar...
The latest Policy Briefing from Social Justice Ireland addresses the issue
of Poverty and is published February 1, 2010. It argues that the Irish
Government and the EU should adopt a 'zero poverty' target to be reached
by 2020. One of the proposals contained in the Briefing is that
Government should move to a Basic Income system. Ireland had the
resources to introduce a BI system in the past decade but chose not to
do so. John Marangos. 2008. “Thomas Paine (1737-1809) and Thomas Spence
(1750-1814) on land ownership, land taxes and the provision of citizens'
dividend,” International Journal of Social Economics Volume 35, Issue:
5, pp. 313 – 325
This historical article discusses one of the first proposals for a Stakeholder grant and one of the first proposals for
full-fledge basic income.
“Cantwell's Cap-and-Trade Bill: Almost Genius”
Alan Durning and Eric de Place, Sightline Daily: Northwest News That Matters, 12/11/2009
Cantwell's climate bill aims high but misses. Try again?
http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2009/12/11/almost-ge...
This article gives a through evaluation of Senator Maria Cantwell’s bill for
a cap-and-dividend approach to global warming. It finds both good and
bad in the proposal, and it is optimistic that the proposal can be
improved.
Keith Rankin, “Tax Reform in Pictures” Scoop: Independent News
This online article include tables that show, for individual taxpayers, average and marginal tax rates for: the status
quo; conservative reform options that recognize the comparatively high
rates of tax that low income that New Zealanders pay; and less
conservative (but even more principled) "refundable tax credit" options
that integrate a flat tax (inclusive of ACC) with a basic universal
benefit.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1003/S00196.htm
12. UPCOMING EVENTS
JOINT USBIG AND BIEN CANADA CONFERENCE, Montreal, April 15-16
See story above.
THIRTEETH BIEN CONGRESS, Sao Paulo Brazil, June 30-July 2
See story above.
GUY STANDING MAKES SEVERAL APPEARANCES IN NORTH AMERICA
Guy Standing will make a series of presentations of his book in Universities in
Canada and the United States this spring. His book, Work after
Globalisation: Building Occupational Citizenship (Edward Elgar), argues
that the growth of the “precariat,” the growth of more forms of work
that are not labor and the erosion of public participation in
deliberative democracy combine to provide a richer set of arguments in
favor of moving towards a basic income as a citizenship right. The
appearances include Rutgers University (March 15-16), UCLA (April 1),
Berkeley (April 5), North Carolina, Chapel Hill (April 9),
Massachusetts, Amherst (April 12), MIT (April 13), Carleton (April 19),
New School of Public Research (April 20) and Wesleyan (April 21). He is
also due to present at the joint USBIG-BIEN Canada Conference in
Montreal on April 15. All of these events are open to the public. Guy
Standing is honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network and a
professor of economic security at the University of Bath. For more
information about any of these presentations contact: Guy Standing
GuyStanding@standingnet.com
DEGROWTH CONFERENCE, Barcelona March 26-29
This conference will have a session entitled “Basic income and income ceiling” asking the questions,
“How can we politically implement a basic income for all? How can we
reform taxation and other policies to impose a ceiling on high incomes?”
Information about the conference session is available at:
http://www.degrowth.eu/v1/index.php?id=90&L=0
13. RECENT EVENTS
Annual meeting of BIEN Denmark
Copenhagen, Demark, February 27, 2010
According to the BIEN Newsletter, BIEN Denmark held its annual meeting in Copenhagen, on February 27, 2010. Bruna Augusto
Pereira and Marcus Vinicius joined the meeting, and talk about the
progress of Basic Income in Brazil.
For more information contact: Per Sorensen
perso1367@gmail.com
Report on the ReCivitas project
Symposium: “Activation or Basic Income? Towards a Sustainable Social Framework”
Tokyo, Japan, February 26, 2010
According to BIEN, this international Symposium was organized under supervision of Prof. Miyamoto Taro from
Hokkaido University, within the framework of the ongoing discussion
about welfare reform in Japan. Guest speakers included Jorgen Goul
Andersen (Aarhus University, Denmark), and Yannick Vanderborght (BIEN
& Louvain University, Belgium). Official organizers are the Welfare
Regime Research Project (JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research), the
International Committee, Society for the Study of Social Policy
(Japan), with the cooperation of the Economic Policy Institute for
Quality Life, Advanced Institute for Law and Politics, Hokkaido
University, and Global COE Program 'New Global Law and Policy for
Multi-agential Governance'
For more information, please email: 226sympo@juris.hokudai.ac.jp
On February 27, Al Sheahen gave a one-hour talk on BIG to a group of 30 students in a "Wealth and Poverty"
class at California State University-Dominguez in Carson, CA. Al
Sheahen is a member of the USBIG Organizing Committee and author of
Guaranteed income: the right to economic security. The talk was
organized by Professor Frank Stricker, author of Why America Lost the
War on Poverty...and How to Win It, UNC Press 2007.
Lecture, "The Town Without Poverty"
The Hamilton Spectator Auditorium, Hamilton, Ontario, February 25, 2010
According to BIEN, within the framework of the "Science in the City" lecture series, organized the Hamilton
Spectator in partnership with McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada), Evelyn L. Forget (University of Manitoba) gave a talk on a
basic income experiment in Canada. In 1974 a small town in the Prairies
(code-named River City) became the subject of a fascinating social
experiment: every family was guaranteed a basic income. The experiment
was paid for by the federal government and the province of Manitoba, and
its goal was to determine whether people would stop working or reduce
the number of hours they worked as a consequence. The money flowed until
1979. The data collected were never analyzed. Instead, it was
warehoused and the radical social experiment was largely forgotten. Was
quality of life affected by the experiment? Were people healthier? Were
they happier? Did the children stay in school longer? Evelyn Forget's
research team was able to access the administrative database for
provincial health insurance to identify everyone who lived in "River
City" during the experiment, and to compare their health and social
outcomes with those of other Manitobans matched on the basis of age, sex
and family composition who lived in similar Prairie towns.
For further information: http://www.mcmaster.ca/research/sciencecity/forget.htm
February 3, 2010, University of Karlsruhe
On Wednesday, February 3rd, Bruna Augusto Pereira and Marcus Vinicius Brancaglione dos Santos reported
about experiences with the ReCivitas pilot project in Quantiga Velho
with Sao Paulo. The project distributes direct cash benefits to those
most in need. The report was contained as part of a lecture by Prof.
Werner. Afterwards the students and presenters participated in a
conversation on the realization possibilities of the basic income. This
talk was part of a series of appearances the ReCivitas representantives
will be making in Western Europe. More information about ReCivitas is
online at: www.recivitas.org.br.
Inaugural Congress of South Korea's Basic Income Network
Seoul, South Korea, January 27-28, 2010
See story on the South Korean Network
Debate: Women, Crisis and Basic Income
Perugia, Italy, January 16, 2010
According to BIEN, this debate was organized by a national forum of women.
Cristina Morini, member of Bin Italia, and Luca Santini, president of
Bin Italia, took part in the discussion.
Further info: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=156
Guaranteed Income and Social Rights
Carpenito Romano, Italy, December 5, 2009
BIEN reports, Carpenito Romano is a small city in the Province of Rome,
Lazio Region, Italy. The Mayor of the city took part in this meeting,
and discussed the regional (Lazio) law on minimum income. Other speakers
focused on the economic crisis and new forms of poverty. Sandro Gobetti
from the basic income network BIN Italia argued in favor of a true
basic income.
Further info: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=152
Naples, Italy, November 27-28, 2009: Stakeholder's forum against poverty
The Italian basic income network Bin Italia took part in the Stakeholder's
Forum against poverty which was organized by several associations, in
cooperation with the Italian government and the European Commission, in
preparation of the 2010 European year against poverty. Bin Italia,
including its President Luca Santini, coordinated the session about
basic needs and guaranteed income on November 27th. Honorary
co-president of BIEN Guy Standing gave a talk during one of the plenary
sessions. See: http://www.scribd.com/doc/22357271/Programme-Fight-Against-Poverty-En
-From BIEN
Public Policies, Basic Income and Health
Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 25, 2009
BIEN reports this conference took place at the CEMUPRO (Centro de Estudios Municipales y Provinciales), a
well-known Argentinian think thank. Speakers included Rubén Lo Vuolo
(CIEPP, Red Argentina de Ingreso Ciudadano) and Pablo Bonnazzola
(CEMUPRO, Buenos Aires). Further information: www.ingresociudadano.org
Bilbao, Spain, November 19-21, 2009: 9th Symposium of Red Renta Basica
The 9th Symposium of the Spanish basic income network Red Renta Basica was
held in Bilbao, the Basque Country. It started in the evening of
November 19th, with a video conference by Pablo Yanes (Universidad
Autónoma de la Ciudad de México). The following two days were mainly
devoted to a discussion of three issues: Basic Income, Employment and
Human Activity; Political Feasibility of Basic Income; Basic Income and
Social Movements. Featured speakers included Daniel Raventós, Iratxe
Arriola, Igor Mera, Yannick Vanderborght, José Luis Rey, José Antonio
Noguera, Iñaki Uribarri, Luis Sanzo, Gorka Moreno, Montse Cervera,
Florent Marcellesi, and Iñaki Carro. PDF versions of the papers are
available at http://ixsimposiorb.com/cd/.
The symposium got press coverage in Gara. See the two following links:
http://www.gara.net/paperezkoa/20091121/167854/es/Buena/con/crecimi...
http://www.gara.net/paperezkoa/20091126/168834/es/Con/la/renta/basi...
Rome, Italy, November 20, 2009: Guaranteed income as a European right
One day of debate organised by Bin Italia and other associations, in the
framework of the "guaranteed income in Europe" appeal that was launched
in May 2009, just before the European elections. The meeting also
launched the idea of a "guaranteed income as a right for Europeans"
within the framework of the 2010 European year against poverty. Euro-MP
Jean Lambert (European Greens) took part in the meeting, as well as the
representative for the Regione Lazio, who promoted the regional law on a
guaranteed minimum income. The meeting program: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=142
-From BIEN
Basic income conference
Rosario, Argentina, November 13, 2009:
According to BIEN, an Argentinean Basic Income conference was organized by the Centro de Participación para la Elaboración Legislativa
(CePEL), at the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Statistics, National
University of Rosario (Argentina). It included a talk entitled 'What do
we mean when we talk about a basic income?' by Elsa Beatriz Gil (Red
Argentina de Ingreso Ciudadano). CePEL’s website is http://www.cepel.net/
Perugia, Italy, November 6, 2009: Women and basic income
Participants in this meeting included Andrea Fumagalli and Cristina Morini from the Italian
basic income network Bin Italia. As in the Lazio region, the local
political actors in Umbria are advocating a regional law on a guaranteed
minimum income. Topics such as the transformation of work, the working
poor, and the role of women were also addressed. For further
information: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=141.
Rome, Italy, November 3, 2009: The necessity of a guaranteed income
On November 3, 2009, Sandro Gobetti, Giuseppe Bronzini, Corrado Del Bò,
Alberto Guariso and Cristina Tajani from Bin Italia spoke at the
"ComPa", the national forum of public administration in Italy. The theme
of the debate was "the necessity of a guaranteed income". The
representative for the Regione Lazio (Italy), who promoted the regional
law on a guaranteed minimum income, was also among the participants. For
further information:
http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=140.
-From BIEN
14. NEW DISCUSSION PAPERS
A Basic Income Guarantee as Reparations for Group Injustice
Richa, December, 2009
Abstract: This paper looks at the issue of reparations for group injustice,
mainly in the USA, and suggests a basic income guarantee as a possible
means of addressing that issue. The need for and legitimacy of such
reparations are first established. The author details some personal
experience with the issue, which includes encountering frequent
resistance to the idea. A basic income guarantee as a means of getting
past much of that resistance is then discussed. That is followed by a
brief discussion of benefits and limitations. The paper concludes that
implementation of a basic income guarantee is the single best way to
right the injustices suffered by people due to their inclusion in
certain cultural/ethnic groups.
Stone Age Anthropology vs. Modern Political Philosophy: Evidence of Five False Factual Claims
Karl Widerquist, November 2009
Abstract: Political Theorists often make empirical claims with little or no supporting evidence. A surprising
number of such empirical claims can be informed by anthropological and
archeological studies of prehistoric societies—studies widely ignored by
the political theorists making the claims. Often, philosophers are less
than clear about whether their statements about the Stone Age are
empirical claims or merely illustrative examples. This study shows that
many important political theories do in fact rely on unsubstantiated
empirical claims that can be informed by existing evidence about
prehistoric societies.
This study a****ses the following five claims: (1) Human interaction naturally creates great economic and
social inequality. (2) A permanent commitment to obey a sovereign
government is the only alternative to an unacceptable state of nature.
(3) Laissez faire capitalism has greater “negative liberty” than any
other system. (4) Everyone today lives better than everyone did before
natural resources were appropriated as private property. (5) Individuals
appropriate property; collectives interfere with it.
This study demonstrates how these claims are essential to commonly-used
justification of property and the state. It carefully reviews existing
literature pertaining to these claims, revealing that they are not
verified (and perhaps are substantially refuted) by empirical evidence:
(1) Human equality has been maintained in some societies without
interference. (2) Many societies known to anthropology have had no
permanent commitment to any set of laws without degenerating into war of
all against all. (5) The “negative liberty” of hunter-gatherers
dominates that of propertyless people under capitalism. (4) It might be
possible to make the claim that the average modern person is better off
in a modern society than in a hunter-gatherer society, but the least
advantaged people in society today are not better off and in many ways
worse off than hunter-gathers. (5) There is little evidence at all for
an individualist origin of property rights; early ownership was either
collective or dominated by individuals who also claimed the right to
govern.
15. NEW LINKS
BIEN Canada Website
Our sister network north of the border, BIEN Canada, has launched its website. It
contains news and information about BIG and about the joint USBIG-BIEN
Canada Conference in Montreal. The site was originally designed by
Jurgen De Wispelaere. The organizers of BIEN Canada will refine and add
information to the website over time. It is online at: http://biencanada.wordpress.com
Impact of Social Benefits
Socialsecurityextension.org now has a matrix on the “Impact of Social Benefits” around the world. The Matrix presents
available evidence on the effects of different social transfers programs
around the world. This evidence results from a desk review on the
social transfers domain and consists of quotes extracted directly from
the literature reviewed. The evidence contained in the matrix can be
searched using different criteria. You can search by type of impact
(e.g. education impacts) in which case you can further specify that type
of impact (e.g. school attendance or school enrollment). In addition to
the type of impact you can search the evidence by kind of benefit, type
of program, region/country and for specific categories (e.g. extreme
poor). For each evidence resulting from your search the name of the
program and the original bibliographical reference are identified and
you can further click to obtain more information on the program and the
original doc**ent quoted. According to its creator, Ian Orton of the
International Labour Organization, many of the programs that can be
scrutinized with this matrix share the same logic of Basic Income (BI).
Thus for all those interested in the BI it will be an important research
tool as one can quickly gain access to specific details as to the
impact of social transfers (e.g. the impact of family benefits on child
labor in Latin America or impact of social pensions on labor market
participation). Orton finds that social transfers schemes to have a
generally favorable impact on all a number of criteria.
The Matrix is online at:
http://www.socialsecurityextension.org/gimi/gess/ShowWiki.do?wid=59
For questions about it, contact Ian Orton:
orton@ilo.org
Share the World’s Resources endorses a basic income
Share The World's Resources (STWR) is a nongovernmental organization funded entirely
through private donations which advocates for governments to secure
basic human needs by sharing essential resources such as water, energy
and staple food. In a position paper entitled, “Economic Sharing &
Alternatives: Crises and Opportunities in Changing Times” Published
February 10, 2010, STWR endorsed the basic income guarantee, writing
“The ethical benefit is immense, because it is a planetary scandal that
10 million children die every year of ridiculous causes; these children
have nothing to do with our political and corporate infamy.”
The STWR webside, including its discussion of BI is online at:
http://www.stwr.org/economic-sharing-alternatives/crises-and-opport...
A Basic income for Haiti?
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in Haiti. On February 3, 2010, the death toll had
swelled to 200,000. Several basic income supporters are now advocating
the idea of a basic income grant to foster the reconstruction of the
country from a bottom-up perspective, echoing Guy Standing's plea for
"Tsunami Recovery Grants" in 2005. At the initiative of Alex Hornung
(Luxembourg), a "BIG for Haiti" Facebook Group was started, and a
reflection launched about the idea to pay a basic income of
approximately EUR10 to every Haitian. Alain Massot, a Professor at Laval
University in Canada, argued along the same lines in a column published
on January 28, 2010. Jean-Paul Brasseur, head of VIVANT-Europe, has
suggested the implementation of a basic income of EUR6, funded by the
citizens of the European Union.
Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=291135833623&ref=nf
Jean-Paul Brasseur’s proposal:
http://www.vivanteurope.org/, see Feb. 2010 issue of “Vivant électronique”
Alain Massot's column:
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/opinions/201001/28/01-944053-un-revenu-de...
Alex Hornung:
kotpela@pt.lu
-From BIEN
Fighting a Jobless Recovery on a Micro Level
An article by Johan Ramakers (Ph.D. Econ) on SearchAmelia.com, in which he argues that "The question for our near
future is not how we can create more jobs, especially noting that much
of the recent job growth in the USA has also been in lower wage service
industry jobs with limited to no benefits and little job security, so,
even when job availability would increase, they are not of the same
economic quality as in past decades. The real question becomes how to
pass on the financial accomplishment and productivity of automation,
robotics, nano technology and artificial intelligence to a population as
a basic income to build from."
http://www.searchamelia.com/2009/12/13/part-4-fighting-a-jobless-re...
-From BIEN
YES WE CA$H! in Italy
This movement advocates the introduction of a minimum income in the Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy.
"The goal is simply a basic income for anyone who needs it. We don't
want it to be linked to wage labour, it won't depend on the claimant
looking for work or relate to their ability to look for work; it will
only depend on whether you earn less than subsistence wages/income...
One debate we have planned is to host a talk by Luciano Gallino, an
important sociologist who is an advocate of a social wage, along with
other researchers and academics involved with BIN (Basic Income Network)
that campaigns for a social wage throughout Italy. We also have events
planned in other cities in E-R like Ferrara, Parma, Reggio Emilia,
Rimini etc during the election campaign."
For further information: http://libcom.org/news/yes-we-cah-welfare-struggles-precarity-italy...
Basic income on Facebook
This Facebook group devoted to basic income already has over 300 members
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=10334829890#!/grou...
-From BIEN
YouTube Video Series on Basic income: “Lessons on Basic Income”
Joerg Drescher has created a YouTube video series with information and interviews about Basic Income. It’s online at:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=DBF5F5CD3B69C813
“Grundeinkommen.”A new film on Unconditional Basic Income Available in more tha 10
Languages at: http://www.bijankafi.de/entry_archives/media/film_on_unconditional_...
16. NEW MEMBERS
Ten new members have joined the USBIG Network in the last three months. The
USBIG Network now has 199 members from 34 U.S. states and 27 foreign
countries. Membership in USBIG is free and open to anyone who shares its
goals. To become a member of USBIG go to www.usbig.net, and click on
“membership.”
The ten new members of the USBIG Network are: Dottie Stevens, Mattapan, MA; Martin Bassani, Parker, CO; Frederik H. L.
Reinbold, Aranjuez, Spain; Cole Holiday, Denver, CO; James D. Quirk,
Huntsville, AL; Denise Villamia, Ridgewood, NY; Jean Boyd, Spokane, WA;
Robert T. Hill, New York, NY; Jeanette Blalock-Davis, Hancock, MN;
Jeremy Miller, West Sacramento, CA.
17. LINKS AND OTHER INFO
For links to dozens of BIG websites around the world, go to http://www.usbig.net/links.html.
These links are to any website with information about BIG, but USBIG
does not necessarily endorse their content or their agendas.
The USBIG Network Newsletter
Editor: Karl Widerquist
Copyeditor: Mike Murray and the USBIG Committee
Research: Paul Nollen; and Yannick Vanderborght of the BIEN NewsFlash
Special help on this issue was provided by Jeff Smith, Jurgen de Wispeleare, Kieran Oberman, and Amanad
Reilly
The U.S. Basic Income Guarantee (USBIG) Network publishes this newsletter. The Network is a discussion group on basic income
guarantee (BIG) in the United States. BIG is a generic name for any
proposal to create a minimum income level, below which no citizen's
income can fall. Information on BIG and USBIG can be found on the web
at: http://www.usbig.net.
You may copy and circulate articles from this newsletter, but please
mention the source and include a link to http://www.usbig.net.
If you know any BIG news; if you know anyone who would like to be added
to this list; or if you would like to be removed from this list; please
send me an email:
Karl@Widerquist.com
As always, your comments on this newsletter and the USBIG website are gladly welcomed.
Thank you,
-Karl Widerquist, editor
Karl@Widerquist.com
=======================================
KARL WIDERQUIST
Visiting Associate Professor in Philosophy
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar
Mailing address:
3300 Whitehaven Street, N.W.
Suite 2100, Harris Building
Washington, D.C. 20007-2401
US cell phone: +1 504-261-0891
Qatar cell phone: +974 508-9323
Qatar fax: +974 457-8231
EMAIL: Karl@widerquist.com
PERSONAL WEBSITE: http://www.widerquist.com/
Vol. 11, No. 55 Winter 2010
This is the Newsletter of the USBIG Network (www.usbig.net), which promotes the
discussion of the basic income guarantee (BIG) in the United States. BIG
is a policy that would unconditionally guarantee at least a
subsistence-level income for everyone. If you would like to be added to
or removed from this list please email: Karl@Widerquist.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS APPROACHES FOR THE 13TH BIEN CONGRESS
2. JOINT USBIG/BIEN CANADA CONFERENCE, Montreal April 15-16, 2010
3. EDITORIAL: Ten years of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network
4. COMPETING PROPOSALS TO CHANGE THE RULES OF THE ALASKA PERMANENT FUND DIVIDEND
5. U.S. FEDERAL AND STATE LAWMAKERS CONSIDERING CAP-AND-DIVIDEND
6. IRAN MIGHT BE MOVING TOWARD A BIG
7. THE CLOSE OF NAMIBIA BIG PILOT PROJECT
8. KOREAN BASIC INCOME NETWORK LAUNCHES WITH LARGE INAUGURAL CONFERENCE
9. OTHER BIG NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
10. BASIC INCOME STUDIES HAS BOOKS IN NEED OF REVIEWERS
11. RECENT PUBLICATIONS
12. UPCOMING EVENTS
13. RECENT EVENTS
14. NEW DISCUSSION PAPERS
15. NEW LINKS
16. NEW MEMBERS
17. LINKS AND OTHER INFO
1. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS APPROACHES FOR THE 13TH BIEN CONGRESS
The Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) will hold its thirteenth congress on
June 30, July 1st and 2nd, 2010, at the Faculty of Economics,
Administration and Accounting of the University of Sao Paulo. USBIG is a
national affiliate of BIEN.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil has tentatively agreed to open the Congress.
Presenters at the conference will discuss the prospects for basic income after the
global financial crisis, oil dividends as a source for basic income
funding, basic income in Latin America and the developing world, workers
movements and basic income, and many other topics.
The Congress will include presentations by Senator Eduardo Suplicy (of the Brazilian
Federal Senate); Philippe Van Parijs (of Université Catholique de
Louvain); Guy Standing (of University of Bath and Monash University);
Scott Goldsmith (of Institute of Social and Economic Research at the
University of Alaska Anchorage); Karl Widerquist (Georgetown
University-Qatar); Ruben Lo Vuolo (of REDIAC, the Argentine Citizens'
Income Network); Robert van der Veen (of the University of Amsterdam);
Claus Offe (Hertie School of Governance, Berlin); Bishop Kameeta (of the
Lutheran Church of Namibia) and many others.
The deadline for submission of papers and panel proposals has been extended to April 12th
2010. The full call for papers, details, registration instructions,
preliminary featured speakers, and accommodation are available at the
Congress website: www.bien2010brasil.com.
Information is also available on the BIEN website: www.basicincome.org.
Paper and panel proposals can be submitted on the conference website: www.bien2010brasil.com.
Questions should be sent to: bien2010.organisation@gmail.com
2. JOINT USBIG/BIEN CANADA CONFERENCE, Montreal April 15-16, 2010
“Basic Income at a Time of Economic Upheaval: A Path to Justice and Stability?”
A Joint conference of the USBIG Network and BIEN Canada
Organized by CREUM. Held at McGill University:
Faculty Club, Ole’s, 3450 McTavish Street
Montreal, Quebec 15-16 April 2010
The Ninth Congress of the USBIG Network will be jointly with the newly formed Canadian
network, BIEN Canada. This two-day conference is the first collaboration
between the two North American affiliates of the Basic Income Earth
Network (BIEN). It will focus on the prospects and challenges of a BIG
policy at a time of economic upheaval.
The conference will take place on April 15-16, 2010 at Mcgill University. The chief organizer of
the conference is Jurgen De Wispelaere, of the University of Montreal.
Although the event is cosponsored and organized by the Centre de
Recherche en Ethique de l’Universite de Montreal (CREUM), registration
has been so strong that the event has been moved to a larger venue at
McGill University. Thanks to the larger venue, there is still room to
register.
The conference features speeches by Dr. Louise Haagh (University of York), Prof. Guy Standing (University of Bath), and
Senator Eduardo Suplicy (Sao Paulo, Brazil), as well as a Political
Forum on “The Politics of the Basic Income Guarantee” featuring Senators
Art Eggleton and Hugh Segal, Tony Martin MP, Amélie Châteauneuf
(spokesperson of FCPASQ), Rob Rainer (utive Director of Canada Without
Poverty), Al Sheahen (utive Committee Member of USBIG), and Sheila
Regehr (Director of National Council of Welfare). In addition there will
be 5 panels with more than a dozen papers from scholars and
practitioners discussing a variety of issues related to the prospects
and challenges of introducing a BIG in Canada or the US. Radio CREUM
will be covering the event and broadcast some of the talks as well as
selective interviews, which will also be available on the net as
podcasts.
The full program is now available on the conference website at http://bigmontreal.wordpress.com/.
Everyone is welcome to attend and participation is free. To register for the
conference please contact Jurgen De Wispelaere at
BIGMontreal2010@gmail.com.
3. EDITORIAL: Ten years of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network
This issue, Volume 11, Number 55, marks the tenth anniversary of the USBIG Newsletter. The USBIG Network
began over breakfast at the Kiev diner in New York City in December
1999. Five people attended the first meeting: Fred Block (a sociologist
at University of California-Davis), Charles M.A. Clark (an economist at
St. John’s University), Michael A. Lewis (sociologist, then at State
University of New York-Stony Brook, now at Hunter College), Pam Donavan
(sociologist then at City University of New York-Graduate Center, now at
Bloomsburg University) and me, Karl Widerquist (then an economist at
the Levy Institute of Bard College, now a philosopher at Georgetown
University-Qatar).
Pam Donovan, Michael A. Lewis, and I had been graduate students together at the City University of New York. We used
to meet weekly to discuss our work. Usually we ended up arguing about
politics. One day we discovered that the one policy we could all agree
on was the basic income, and so Michael Lewis and I decided to write a
paper about it. We gradually got involved with the Basic Income European
Network (BIEN), which had been providing a forum for dialogue on basic
income in Europe. There were several natural networks in Europe at the
time, but there was no equivalent in the United States. Through BIEN we
got in touch with Fred Block and Charles M.A. Clark, who had both being
doing research on basic income in the United States.
When Fred Block was in town for a conference, we all decided to meet for
breakfast. There was no agenda or anything, but the next thing I knew we
had decided to create a network, and I had volunteered to write its
newsletter. Ten years later, I’m still writing that newsletter. It began
with a circulation of about 30 people, including the five of us from
the meeting. Since then it has grown to nearly a thousand people.
We called the new organization “the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network,”
(The USBIG Network or just USBIG for short). We chose that name partly
because “basic income guarantee” (BIG) as a generic term that includes
various specific versions, such as “basic income,” “negative income
tax,” and “guaranteed income.” Also, it makes a nice acronym and the
domain name www.usbig.net
was available. We took on only one goal: to increase discussion of the
basic income guarantee in the United States.
We started the network with a small seminar series in New York City in 2000, and in
2002 we began holding yearly conferences. We are now preparing for our
ninth conference, which will be our first joint conference with the new
Canadian basic income network, known as BIEN Canada.
Over the last ten years, interest in the basic income guarantee has grown
steadily around the world. The Basic Income European Network expanded to
become the Basic Income Earth Network, and USBIG became one of its
first non-European affiliates. More books and articles on BIG are
published each year. Basic Income Studies has become the first academic
journal focusing entirely on basic income. Palgrave-MacMillan is now
preparing an entire book series on BIG. The first books in the series
are expected to be released in 2011 or 2012.
The USBIG Network has chosen to remain a nonpartisan discussion group, but there are
political action groups in the United States that are pushing for basic
income as part of their agenda.
BIG occasionally springs up as a live political issue in surprising places. The only existing BIG in the
world, the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, continues to be an enormously
popular policy. Two members of the U.S. House of representatives signed
on to the idea in 2006; several other members of Congress have endorsed
it in roundabout ways—by endorsing a cap-and-dividend or an oil
dividend for Iraq. There are senators pushing for it in Canada and
Brazil. More than two-dozen members of the German Bundestag are
committed to the idea. A Namibian organization has just completed a
two-year pilot project on BIG. And so on. And so on.
Writing the USBIG Newsletter has been an interesting experiment. At first I didn’t
think there could possibly be enough news about BIG to report in regular
issues, but instead I quickly became overwhelmed by how much activity
is going on in the world. Somehow, I’ve managed to condense a
significant portion of it into the Newsletter. Thanks to the miracle of
the internet I’ve been able to work on the USBIG newsletter in New York;
New Orleans; England; the far north of Sweden; Hong Kong; Brazil;
Qatar; and I can’t even remember where else.
On the wh*** I think I’ve kept my reporting accurate, but I can recall a few embarrassing
errors—such as the time I identified a British MP as being from
Australia. I’ve enjoyed reporting on the progress of BIG movements
around the world. I’ve enjoyed meeting all the interesting who work on
this issue. I’ve suffered through writing obituaries for friends I’ve
gotten to know in the movement.
I hope when I look back ten years from now, I’ll remember reporting on the introduction of the world’s
second basic income guarantee, somewhere in the world.
-Karl Widerquist, in flight over the Atlantic, February 24, 2010 (revised,
March 15, 2010, Doha, Qatar)
4. COMPETING PROPOSALS TO CHANGE THE RULES OF THE ALASKA PERMANENT FUND DIVIDEND
Several news organizations are reporting that two members of the Alaska legislature
(Rep. Harry Crawford and Sen. Hollis French, both Democrats) have
proposed a bill to enshrine the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) in the
state constitution. The Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) is already in the
state constitution, but the PFD is not. Conceivably, the legislature
could redirect the fund’s returns to support other government spending.
Crawford and French say that the proposal is motivated by the worry that
the legislature will reduce the dividend to support tax breaks for oil
companies. Any amendment to the Alaska state constitution requires a
two-thirds vote of the state House and Senate and a statewide vote of
the people. The proposal sent off a flurry of op-ed articles on both
sides of the issue.
The recent volatility of the fund and of state government revenues fueled this and other proposals to change the
APF’s rules. The APF reached a total value of over 40 billion dollars
just before the financial crisis of 2008. It then dropped to 26 billion
dollars about the time the market hit bottom in 2009, generating fear
that the APF would not be able to pay dividends in 2009 or 2010. The
fund has since rebounded to about 34.5 billion dollars, largely quieting
fears about the current year’s dividend. However, fears of future
volatility remain, along with fears that a future legislature that might
want to sacrifice a stream of dividends to close a one-time budget gap.
A recent editorial in the Alaska Daily News argued that a better way to
protect the PFD would for the state to inflation-proof it by limiting
the amount of cash that could be used each year to five percent of the
total market value of the APF. Many endowment managers have used this
rule to ensure that their endowment produces a steady long-term flow of
income.
Support for the dividend is so strong that few critics of the amendment say that they want to redirect the fund’s earnings to
something other than the dividend. Occasionally left-of-center voices
portray the dividend as tacit support for Big Oil (see a recent op-ed by
Maureen Suttman), and right-of-center voices portray it as some kind of
socialism. An editor of Britain’s conservative paper, the Telegraph,
accused Sarah Palin of being a “secret socialist” for her (very public)
support of the Alaska Permanent Fund. But few Alaskans of any political
stripe seem to see the APF this way. Overwhelmingly, both Democrats and
Republicans portray the dividend as an equitable way to make sure that
the state’s oil revenues actually do create long-term benefit for all
Alaskans. Opponents of the amendment simply argue that the dividend does
not need to be enshrined in the constitution to protect it from
legislators who might want to redirect funds elsewhere.
Yet, a movement to redirect the earning of the APF to other uses is currently
underway in the legislature. According to the Alaska Dispatch, House
Speaker Mike Chenault (Republican) has recently introduced a bill to use
some of the APF’s earnings for construction of a natural gas pipeline.
The idea is to put a nonbinding resolution before the voters that would
authorize the legislature to use any money leftover in the fund (after
paying the dividend and inflation proofing the fund) for pipeline
construction.
The APF has never been used this way before. Any money leftover after inflation proofing has previously been reinvested
into the fund, increasing its value and leading to larger dividends in
the future. Therefore Chenault’s proposal will lead to smaller future
dividends than if the APF remained on its present course. Support for
Chenault’s proposal has so far been divided along party lines, with
Republicans for and Democrats against.
Recent articles on the APF:
Permanent fund looks back on profitable year
Pat Forgey, February 25, 2010, Juneau Empire
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/022510/loc_567525884.shtml
Permanent Fund gas pipeline ballot measure won't provide clear answer
Dermot Cole, Daily News Miner
http://newsminer.com/pages/full_story/push?blog-entry-Permanent+Fun...
Should the Permanent Fund bankroll a gas line?
Rena Delbridge, Alaska Dispatch, Feb 8, 2010
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/politics/3935-should-the-p...
PFD checks aren't worth the price we pay
Maureen Suttman, COMPASS: Other points of view, Alaska Daily News, January 23, 2010
http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/1107444.html
Is Sarah Palin a secret socialist?
Damian Thompson, The Telegraph, November 14th, 2009:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100016825/is-sarah...
Politics, economy fuel Permanent Fund debate
Rena Delbridge, Alaska Dispatch, February 11, 2010
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/politics/3706-politics-eco...
Endowment model covers inflation, provides dividend
Alaska Daily News
http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/1086508.html
Permanent Fund may be part of Alaska constitution
The Associated Press; reported in the Alaska Daily News
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/1081315.html
Lawmakers hope to write PFD into Alaska's Constitution
Ted Land, KTUU-TV
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=11775512
Our View: Keep PFD where it is
Alaska Daily News editorial, January 7, 2010
http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/1084212.html
Comment: PFD needs to be put into constitution
John Havelock, former Alaska Attorney General, the Alaska Daily News
http://www.adn.com/opinion/comment/havelock/story/1095840.html
State Constitution not right place for dividend
Ben Brown, The Alaska Observer, January 11, 2010
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/011110/opi_545486290.shtml
Empire editorial: PFD hyperbole
Juneau Empire, January 10, 2010
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/011010/opi_544924604.shtml
Permanent Fund has poor year
Anchorage Daily News, January 30, 2010
http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/1116958.html
5. U.S. FEDERAL AND STATE LAWMAKERS CONSIDERING CAP-AND-DIVIDEND
The cap-and-dividend approach to greenhouse gas emissions is receiving
serious attention by lawmakers in the U.S. Congress and in the
California state legislature. Under cap-and-dividend, the government
auctions off rights to release limited amounts of greenhouse gases and
uses (some or all of) the revenue to finance a dividend. The strategy
can be a weak or strong approach to global warming depending on how many
permits the government chooses to auction off and on whether it covers
all or only some greenhouse gases. The dividend is, of course, a small
basic income guarantee, although it is usually justified not for its own
sake but as a way to ensure that carbon taxes are not a drag on the
economy or on the most vulnerable individuals. The inclusion of BIG in
cap-and-dividend has given it sudden political viability.
Senators Maria Cantwell (Democrat of Washington) and Susan Collins (Republican
of Maine) have recently introduced a cap-and-dividend bill under the
name of the CLEAR Act. According to the Sightline institute, the bill
has the following features:
- “A solid reduction target: 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent below by 2050.”
- “Full auctioning”
- “Individuals are directly rebated with three-quarters of the auction proceeds.”
- “Details are in short supply when it comes to enacting a border-adjustment tariff (to prevent
industrial "leakage") and for spending money on reductions outside the
cap, as well as for adaptation, international assistance, worker
transition, energy efficiency, and other programs.”
- “A price ceiling, … The bill does include provisions to offset permits that are
issued beyond those allowed by the cap, but the details are sketchy.”
At the same time, California's Economic and Allocation Advisory Committee
has released a draft report recommending a cap-and-dividend program for
California. The report recommends that “the largest share (roughly 75%)
of allowance value should be returned to California households either
through tax rate cuts or via lump-sum transfers, with a smaller share
(roughly 25%) used to finance socially beneficial investments and public
expenditures.” (p.69). The EAAC estimates that if 80% of auction
revenues were returned to Californians, an individual’s 2012 dividend
would be US$103, rising to US$276 by 2020.
Related links:
The following website has a short story on the CLEAR Act and a long list of
links to related stories:
http://www.carbonshare.org/newsnatl.html
Sightline Daily has a mixed evaluation of the CLEAR Act:
“Cantwell's Cap-and-Trade Bill: Almost Genius,” Posted by Alan Durning and Eric de
Place, 12/11/2009:
http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2009/12/11/almost-ge...
Details for the California proposal are online at:
http://climatechange.ca.gov/eaac/
A Los Angeles Times report on the California proposal is online at:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/01/cap-and-trade-ca...
-From BIEN
Wall Street Journal article on the California proposal, “California Ties Cash to Energy,” by Rebecca Smith and Keith Johnson,
January 12, 2010:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126325739326825569.html?mod=WSJ_hpp...
6. IRAN MIGHT BE MOVING TOWARD A BIG
Overshadowed by the recent turmoil in Iran, the government has been making strong moves toward
introducing something very much like a basic income guarantee. According
to Hamid Tabatabai, of the International Labor organization, “In
January 2010, the Majles (Iran’s parliament) adopted a far-reaching law
that progressively replaces subsidies on energy and basic goods with
direct cash transfers to the population. The subsidies run into tens of
billions of dollars annually, mostly on fuel, and benefit the richer
strata of society more than others. Half of the proceeds will be passed
on directly to the people through their bank accounts, with the rest
used to boost the development of agriculture and industry and strengthen
the country’s social security system. Estimated at some 10 to 20
billion dollars in the first year, the transfers would be unconditional,
i.e. without any quid pro quo, and universal, except for households who
opt out by failing to provide the needed information about their
composition and socioeconomic status. In setting the amount of the
transfer to each household the law requires consideration of household
income but the most important factor is likely to be the household size.
Implementation will begin in spring 2010 and take five years.”
Cash transfers are not new in Iran; a variety of programs have been in place
for years, but many Iranians, including many in government, see that
too much of the benefit of existing programs goes to already well off
people. According to Tabatabai, “the concept of a universal,
unconditional and regular cash grants emerges almost seamlessly as a
by-product of an attempt to address the shortcomings of the present
system. However, even if a BIG proves to be a logical and feasible
proposition from economic and social perspectives, its prospects would
depend on how the subject is broached and argued in the highly charged
political environment in the country.”
The situation is developing rapidly as the content and implementation strategies of
reforms are being worked out. Tabatabai will present a paper on the
Iranian situation at the Thirteenth BIEN Congress in Sao Paulo this
June.
7. THE CLOSE OF NAMIBIA BIG PILOT PROJECT
The Namibian Basic Income Grant Pilot Project has come to its conclusion,
the BIG (Basic Income Grant) Coalition announced recently. After two
years of successful implementation, the last payout took place in
December 2009. According to the coalition, the results of the pilot
project have proven the effectiveness of a BIG to fight poverty, foster
social development and kick-start local economic development. The impact
of the BIG was nothing short of spectacular: Poverty levels and child
malnutrition declined dramatically, while school attendance and
utilization of the local clinic improved. Likewise, economic activities
increased significantly while crime levels dropped.
Based on the findings in Omitara, the Coalition is convinced that a national BIG
will benefit Namibians in all regions of the country. It is, the
Coalition argues, both beneficial and affordable and its implementation
is thus a question of political will. The drawings of the school
children bear witness to the tangible changes in people's lives.
The BIG Coalition has noted with disappointment that despite the impressive
results of the BIG pilot project in Otjivero-Omitara, the Namibian
Government has not yet committed itself to the introduction of the
country-wide BIG. According to the BIG Coalition, the delay in the
national implementation is hurting the poor in general and the residents
of Otjivero-Omitara in particular.
The BIG Coalition decided that it could not stand by and let the residents slide back into the
dehumanising levels of poverty that they experienced before the BIG was
introduced two years ago. Thus, while demanding the implementation of
the BIG nationwide, it will utilise a 'bridging allowance' to tie over
the households for the time being. This is not a solution but merely a
'stop-gap measure' which cannot replace the BIG. The
'bridging-allowance' is limited to the participants of the pilot and
limitations thereof both of the value of support to the individual as
well as to the community are acknowledged. The welfare of the country's
citizens is the responsibility of the Government. During the next one to
two years the Coalition expects the Government to introduce the BIG
nationwide, which will make the bridging allowance superfluous.
The pilot project has gained worldwide publicity and is part of the global
discussion on new approaches in development. In fact, Namibia has been
put on the world map because of the people of Otjivero-Omitara. They
have shown the world what can be done with very little money, and that
it is based on a human rights approach, a philosophy of equality and a
theology of dignity.
Recently, the BBC reported directly from the BIG Pilot Project in Otjivero-Omitara. It was part of the BBC series "A
dollar a day".
-FROM BIEN
For further information about the BIG Pilot Project see:
BBC Doc**entary:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/doc**entaries/2009/11/091110_doll...
The Namibian BIG Coalition website: http://www.bignam.org/
“Curtain comes down on Otjivero BIG”
Toivo Ndjebela, November 24, 2009, New Era, Windhoek
http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=8482
‘Fair government will rule for a long time’
Irene !Hoaes, November 20, 2009, New Era Windhoek
http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=8426
8. KOREAN BASIC INCOME NETWORK LAUNCHES WITH LARGE INAUGURAL CONFERENCE
South Korea has a new basic income network. According to BIEN, the idea of a
basic income took off in Korea only a few years ago, when Koreans with
connections in Paris and Berlin discovered and reported back home that
the leftist Italian philosopher Toni Negri and the wealthy German
businessman Gotz Werner both defended an unconditional basic income.
Google soon entered into action, and by 2006 the ramifications of BIEN's
network were being explored, and BIS articles downloaded. In 2006,
Kwack No-Wan, a left-wing philosopher at the University of Seoul
published an article in which he critically discussed the international
theoretical literature on basic income and formulated a proposal for its
implementation in South Korea. This spread the idea in Seoul's
left-wing community. The Socialist Party (a left-wing party founded in
1998) took it up, and so did, for example, the University teachers'
Trade Union. A network was formed in February 2009, and several books
and pamphlets have now been published, including, most recently, a
Korean translation of Redesigning Distribution (by Ackerman, Alstott
& Van Parijs).
According to BIEN, hundreds of people gathered on January 27-28 at the heart of the world's third biggest metropolis
for two intense days of lectures and discussions entirely devoted to the
proposal of an unconditional basic income. Hosted by Sogang University,
the meeting was an impressively organized joint venture of several
Seoul-based universities, a number of left-wing associations, and
Korea's small Socialist Party.
The first day ("Basic Income for All!") was intended primarily for an activist audience. It started with
opening addresses by Kang Nam-Hoon (Hanshin University), one of the
first Korean scholars to become actively interested in basic income, and
Philippe Van Parijs (Louvain & Harvard), chair of BIEN's
international board, and gave the audience an overview of the state of
the basic income discussion in Japan (by Toru Yamamori, Doshisha
University in Kyoto and coordinator of Japan's basic income network),
Brazil (by Eduardo Suplicy, federal senator and honorary co-chair of
BIEN) and Germany (by Ronald Blaschke, parliamentary assistant for the
party Die Linke at the Bundestag, and co-founder of Germany's basic
income network), as well as several contributions by Choi Gwang-Eun
(representative of the Socialist Party and author of a Master's thesis
on basic income) and others about how basic income could fit into the
Korean context.
The second day ("Sustainable Utopia and Basic Income in a Global Era") was intended primarily for an academic
audience. Contributions covered, among other themes, the relations
between basic income and conditional guaranteed income schemes
(Blaschke), disability pensions (Choi), migration (Van Parijs), single
mothers (Yamamori) and investment in human capital (Neantro Saavedra,
University of Tsukuba, JP), the "glocal agora" (Kwack No-Wan, University
of Seoul), the impact a basic income would have on the distribution of
income (Baek Seung-Ho, Catholic University, Seoul) and capital formation
(Ahn Hyun-Hyo, Daegu University) in Korea. The conference ended with a
very lively panel discussion which Senator Suplicy concluded, as only he
can do, by getting the audience to sing "Blowing in the Wind".
All the papers presented were available in advance in both Korean and
English in the form of two hefty volumes (600 pages in all). The
conference was also the occasion to present to the press a very eloquent
"Seoul Declaration on Basic Income" signed by over six hundred
academics and activists. And the foreign speakers (Suplicy, Van Parijs,
Blaschke, Yamamori) were dispatched the following day to address
seminars, student audiences and activist groups in various places
throughout the city (Gyeongsang National University, Seoul National
University, Socialist Party, New Progressive Party, Alternative Forum,
Academia Communix, etc.).
9. OTHER BIG NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
LYBIA: Mouammar Kadhafi pledges to abolish oil ministry and distribute revenues directly to the people
According to Knight Ridder, the Libyan dictator, Colonel Mouammar Kadhafi has pledged to
abolish the oil ministry and distribute oil revenues directly to the
people. Kadhafi said, according to Reuters, "All citizens have the right
to benefit from the oil funds. They should take the money and do
whatever they want with it." He said that the committees that run the
oil ministry and other government agencies have failed. "These
committees will be replaced spontaneously by real committees to be
created everywhere by citizens. Citizens will get part of the oil
revenue directly. They don't need intermediaries." How these citizen
committees will be able to distribute money directly to the people is
unclear. Khadafi has made similar statements in the past, and so we
should not necessarily expect the creation of a Libyan oil dividend to
be imminent.
For more on this issue, see:
Ministries Abolished, Oil Revenues to be Distributed to Libyans
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Monday, March 03, 2008
http://libcom.org/forums/news/libya-abolish-most-ministries-oil-rev...
NEW ZEALAND: Proposal for a BIG funded by capital taxation
According to the New Zealand Herald, “Economist and fund manager Gareth Morgan, who
is a member of the Tax Working Group, has proposed a radical tax
restructure to the group's final public conference that would impose a
Comprehensive Capital Tax (CCT) on all land, buildings, plant and
equipment to raise NZ$19 billion. This money would then be used to
create a flat income tax rate of 25% on all corporate, personal and
trust income. It would also be used to provide each adult with a
NZ$10,000 guaranteed minimum income to replace all benefits”
The Herald article is online at:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&obje...
A video of the proposal is online at:
http://www.3news.co.nz/Gareth-Morgans-radical-tax-overhaul/tabid/36...
A blog about the proposal is online at:
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/guranteed-minimum-income-capital-tax-...
ARGENTINA: possibly moving toward a basic income for children
Several political actors have recently expressed (cautious) support for the idea of a
basic income for children. The Argentinean government issued Decree
number 1602 entitled “Universal Assignment for children as a social
protection policy” (doc**ent available at www.ingresociudadano.org).
On November 11, 2009, the Argentinian basic income network Red
Argentina de Ingreso Ciudadano published the doc**ent “Assignment for
children and Basic Income” with a critical a****sment of the
governmental measure. The newly established “Universal Assignment” takes
a different approach compared with the Conditional Cash Transfer
Programs in many Latin American countries. It pays an allowance to most
parents with children under 18 years of age who are unemployed or work
in the informal sector. Even when there are some conditions regarding
parent income (which should not be over the minimum wage), school
registration, health checks, etc., that reduce the universality of the
benefit, the government projects to pay from 4 to 5 million benefits
(covering about 70/80% of children with no benefits from previously
existing family allowances). The measure was the governmental response
to pressures from civil society and some opposition parties who had long
demanded a universal and unconditional basic income for children. In
this sense, it could be considered a first step to other programmes
moving in the direction of a true basic income.
Within the framework of this ongoing discussion on universal child benefits, one should also
mention the two following bill proposals: “Basic Income for Children and
Teenagers”, bill proposal presented by Silvia Ausburger, Member of
Parliament (Partido Socialista); “Basic Income for Citizenship”, bill
proposal presented by Jose Antonio Artusi, Member of Parliament (Unión
Cívica Radical).
For further information: www.ingresociudadano.org
-From BIEN
ZIMBABWE: Alaska-style dividend proposed for Zimbabwe’s diamond mines
An editorial in a government-sponsored newspaper, reprinted by AllAfrica.com, discusses how Zimbabwe create an
Alaska-style dividend out of revenue from Zimbabwe’s new diamond mines.
The article discusses the resource curse through the example of
Nigeria’s oil. It suggests that the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend is
one of the reasons Alaska has avoided the resource curse. The article is
online at: http://allafrica.com/stories/200912110512.html
BELGIUM: Socialist Party advocates a basic income for seniors
On February 8, 2010, the Flemish Socialist Party (SPA) published its (still
provisional) plan for a fundamental reform of Belgium's pension system.
It attracted a lot of media attention. Among the remarkable features of
the plan is the idea to implement a federal guaranteed basic pension
(so-called Gewaarborgd Pensioen in Dutch). It would amount to paying a
monthly basic income to all individuals when they reach retirement age.
According to the plan, this basic pension "needs to be disconnected from
previous individual labour productivity". It would be funded through
the income tax, rather than through social contributions. The plan was
designed under the leadership of former Federal Minister for Pensions
Bruno Tobback. The Flemish Socialist Party is part of the coalition in
power in the Flemish region, but not at the Federal level.
SP.A website: http://www.s-p-a.be/
Pension plan (in Dutch): http://www.s-p-a.be/common/showdoc**ent.asp?iID=5117
Newspaper articles:
'SP.A heeft eigen pensioenplan', De Standaard, Feb. 9, 2010, www.standaard.be
'Sp.a wil aanvullend pensioen voor alle werknemers', De Morgen, Feb. 9, 2010, www.demorgen.be
-From BIEN
LUXEMBOURG: First public event for basic income group in Luxembourg:
On September 29th, 2009, the Luxembourg basic income group had its first
public event. In the course of the exhibit "Colors of Money", the group
invited interested participants to a discussion about basic income. The
organizers themselves were surprised by the fact that there was quite a
crowd in the room. As a warm up, the film "Kulturimpuls Grundeinkommen"
from Daniel Häni and Enno Schmidt was shown. The lively discussion that
followed allowed many participants to share their thoughts and opinions
on the advantages and disadvantages of basic income for the tiny and
open economy of Luxembourg. Probably one of the most interesting and
challenging aspects of Luxembourg – from a basic income perspective – is
the composition of its active population, since roughly a third of it
lives in neighbor countries. The residency criterion that is the
standard rule to grant a basic income might cause a huge uproar among
cross-border commuters, and as such it should be applied carefully. For
example it could be paid out in the form of a complimentary regional
currency. An alternative would be a basic income implemented
simultaneously in the neighboring countries. On the other hand, this
cross-border issue brought one of Luxembourg's strong points to the
forefront: its highly international environment, and its ability to
bring people from many different cultures together. The group is already
in contact with initiatives from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and
Switzerland. Prior to the discussion event and ever since the group
managed to stay in the news, through radio interviews, press articles
and a 15-minute TV magazine. On January 8th, 2010 a constituent meeting
is planned where the final name and short- and medium-term goals will be
discussed. Further information, including the links to all activities,
is available at www.grondakommes.lu.
-From BIEN
NEW ZEALAND: Democrats for Social Credit endorse a new Financial Plan
Democrats for Social Credit, a small political party in New Zealand, has endorsed a new plan for financial reform, which
includes a basic income scheme called “Kiwi Income”. During their annual
conference in September 2009, DSC delegates approved a 7 point plan to
reform the “inherently unstable” financial system. According to DSC’s
Press Release, “this is achieved by replacing toxic debt-based
commercial bank credit with social credit. The issue of social credit
will be the sole means of money coming into existence and continuing to
exist – and will be issued in the public interest, to serve the common
good”. A new ‘New Zealand Monetary Authority (NZMA)’ will be established
as the only institution with the power to create, issue, and cancel New
Zealand’s money. “Debt free money will be made available by NZMA to the
New Zealand Government to fund “Kiwi Income” (KI), in the form of a
national dividend to every resident New Zealander. NZMA will also be
able to fund Health, Education and Environmental projects - in ways that
decrease the call on family incomes.” For further information:
http://www.democrats.org.nz/OurNews/MediaReleases/tabid/111/selecte...
-From BIEN
UKRAINE: Towards the first affiliate network of BIEN in Eastern Europe?
On September 16th, 2009, the first international symposium about Basic Income took place in Kyiv in Ukrainian and
Russian. This event was made possible by a donation from Germany within
the international “Week of Basic Income.” A wider debate is hoped for
with the aim to found a Ukrainian/Eastern European network to serve as a
regional affiliate of BIEN. There have been contacts made with
universities and other organizations, that are interested in Basic
Income and that have asked for lectures. The web-site http://bod.in.ua (in English, German,
Ukrainian and Russian) contains texts of the speeches given at the
symposium, and further information about Basic Income – including
reports about the discussion in some countries, which already have
affiliates of BIEN. There are also videos on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/BODinUA
These are the first sources within the former Soviet Union providing
information about Basic Income in Slavic languages. Everybody is invited
to support this network with articles, opinions, statements or other
resources. For further information, please contact:
joerg.drescher@iovialis.org
-From BIEN
BRAZIL: ReCivitas reports on its consortium Basic Income Of Citizenship At Quatinga Velho,
Mogi Das Cruzes, Sao Paulo (state), Brazil.
On the 25th of October 2008 the Instituto pela Revitalização da Cidadania, in the small
community of Quatinga Velho at the municipality of Mogi das Cruzes,
ReCivitas began an independent a pilot project in the Basic Income of
Citizenship (BIC) in line with the principles of universality and
unconditionality. The organizers hope that the experience of this
project will help educate the public about BIC, paid monthly, in cash,
to all local residents, at any time they wish to participate in the
project, without any discrimination or requirement to reciprocate. The
project is financed by a consortium of Natural Persons formed
exclusively for this purpose The project which was originally expected
to last for one year and pay a monthly amount of R$30,00 to 27 members
of this community. In November of 2009, at the meeting to present the
results of first year of experience, the consortium decided to continue
the project for another year. After 15 months, the project pays
unconditional income to 67 residents of Quatinga Velho. For more
information, or instructions on how to donate, contact:
recivitas@recivitas.org.br
BRAZIL: Workers Party puts BIG in its platform for the upcoming elections
The Partido dos Trabalhadores (the Workers Party) held its Fourth National Congress on February
19-21. All 1350 delegates, by unanimity, approved a guideline as part of
the Presidential Program of their candidate Dilma Rousseff. This
guideline includes the following endorsement of BIG: “The expansion and
the strengthening of the popular consumption goods market, that produces
strong positive impact on the set of productive sector, will be
attained by: … (h) permanent improvement of the income transfers
program, as Bolsa Familia, to eradicate hunger and poverty, to
facilitate population access to employment, education, health and better
income; (g) transition from the Bolsa Família Program to the Citizen´s
Basic Income – CBI, unconditional, as a right of everyone to participate
in the wealth of the nation, as foreseen in Law 10.853/2004, an
initiative by PT, approved by all parties of the National Congress and
sanctioned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on January 8th, 2004.”
10. BASIC INCOME STUDIES HAS BOOKS IN NEED OF REVIEWERS
Basic Income Studies (BIS) is the first academic journal dedicated to research on
basic income. It includes research articles, notes, debates, and book
reviews on all aspects of primary research related to basic income.
Right now BIS has several books in need of reviewers, including:
- Van Donselaar, Gijs. 2009. The Right to Exploit: Parasitism, Scarcity,
Basic Income. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Saba Marco. 2009. Moneta Nostra - Extracting a Basic Income from Seigniorage (in Italian).
Internet. Available online (PDF) at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/20265666/Moneta-Nostra
- Prabhakar, Rajiv. 2008. The Assets Agenda: Principles and Policy. London: Palgrave-MacMillan.
- Stricker, Frank. 2007. Why America Lost the War on Poverty...and How to
Win It, Chapel Hill, NC: the University of North Carolina Press. 360
pages.
- Blackburn, Robin. 2006. Age Shock: How Finance is Failing Us. London: Verso.
- Prabhakar, Rajiv. 2003. Stakeholding and New Labour. Basinstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan.
- Schroeder, Doris. 2000. Work Incentives and Welfare Provision: The 'pathological' theory of
unemployment. Aldershot: Ashgate.
More books will be in soon. If you are interested in reviewing a book for BIS, please contact one of
the editors, Karl Widerquist
karl@widerquist.com
and Jurgen De Wispelaere
jurgen.dewispelaere@gmail.com
11. RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Widerquist, Karl. “The Physical Basis of Voluntary Trade,” Human Rights Review, March 2010, Vol. 11 Issue 1, p83-103
Abstract: The article discusses the conditions under which can we say that people
enter the economic system voluntarily. “The Need for an Exit Option”
briefly explains the philosophical argument that voluntary interaction
requires an exit option—a reasonable alternative to participation in the
projects of others. “The Treatment of Effective Forced Labor in
Economic and Political Theory” considers the treatment of effectively
forced interaction in economic and political theory. “Human Need”
discusses theories of human need to determine the capabilities a person
requires to have an acceptable exit option. “Capability in Cash, Kind,
or Raw Resources” considers what form access to that level of capability
should take—in cash, kind, or raw resources, concluding that a basic
income guarantee is the most effective method to ensure an exit option
in a modern, industrial economy.
Stricker, Frank, Why America Lost the War on Poverty...and How to Win It, UNC Press 2007.
This book mainly focuses on creating jobs as a solution to poverty, but it
has 19 indexed-reference pages to a Guaranteed Income, including an
8-page analysis of what killed the Family Assistance Plan (Richard
Nixon’s watered-down negative income tax proposal). The final chapter on
"What Needs to Be Done," lists 17 recommendations. Number 13 is "Start
Planning for an American Minimum Income." The book is 360 pages, with
illustrations, tables, and appendix, covering the 1950s to the present.
It is published (Sept. 2007) by the University of North Carolina Press
in Chapel Hill, NC. $19.95. The Author, Frank Sticker, is a professor
of history at California State University, Dominguez Hills. According to
the Journal of Social History, "What is most powerful about Stricker's
overview is how he consistently presents the political and economic
decisions that have sustained poverty over a half century.”
Podcast of the Sunday Edition show on BIG, October 18, 2009
According to BIEN Canada, on October 18, 2009, CBC Radio’s "The Sunday Edition" aired
a show about poverty, guaranteed income, and the Dauphin Mincome
experiment. The guests interviewed by Michael Enright were Senator Hugh
Segal, Ron Hikel (utive Director of Mincome), and Dr. Evelyn Forget
(University of Manitoba).
A podcast of the show is available at:
http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/listen_stream.html#
click on October 18, 2009
An interview on basic income in Gara (Basque Country, Spain)
In the framework of the IXth Symposium of the Spanish basic income network Red Renta Basica, which was held in Bilbao
on November 19-21, 2009, Yannick Vanderborght (BIEN & Louvain
University) was interviewed by Juanjo Basterra
from the newspaper Gara. Available at: http://www.gara.net/paperezkoa/20091126/168834/es/Con/la/renta/basi...
Basic Income for All! and Sustainable Utopia and Basic Income in a Global
Era: Proceedings of the Seoul Basic Income International Conference 2010
Basic Income Korean Network
Seoul: Seoul National University, 302pp. and 337pp. http://basicincome.kr/
These two volumes include the proceedings (in English and Korean) of a
Conference held in Seoul on 27-28 January 2010. Among the authors are
Ronald Blaschke, Eduardo Suplicy, Yamamori Toru, Philippe Van Parijs
(with Y. Vanderborght) and several Korean scholars.
-From BIEN
Steiner, Hillel. 2009. “Left Libertarianism and the Ownership of Natural
Resources.” Public Reason 1 (1): 1-8.
The author concludes (among other things), “if we hold that anyone claiming ownership over some bits
of nature must leave ‘enough and as good for others’, we’re led by a
series of plausible steps to the conclusion that, in a fully
appropriated world, each person is entitled to an equal portion of the
value of these bits of nature. That is, all owners of natural resources
must pool the value of what they own in a fund - ultimately a global
fund - to an equal portion of which everyone everywhere has a moral
right. In that sense, our just rights to natural resources entitle each
of us to what has come to be called an ‘unconditional basic income’ or,
non-paternalistically, an unconditional initial capital grant.”
According to the author, the right to this claim is not “a basic
positive right,” which can be interpreted to men that it is a right
derived from the negative right to be free from interference.
Rethinking Poverty. Report on the World Situation 2010
United Nations (2009), New York: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Available online (PDF) at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/rwss/docs/2010/fullreport.pdf
Chapter 8 of this official report includes a discussion of conditional vs.
unconditional cash transfers, and some positive features of universal
transfers are stressed: "... Given some of the problems associated with
conditionality and targeting, the question whether direct cash grants to
people living in poverty should be universal and/or unconditional has
been raised. ... In case of emergency, it is possible to institute
universal cash transfer schemes such as a basic income grant with no
conditions. Critics of such program argue that a basic income grant
reduces total employment in an economy by reducing labor supply and the
willingness to work by raising the acceptable wage floor. However, in
developing countries, the availability of basic income grants may
increase productivity and help smooth consumption. For example, income
grants reduce the need for workers to send remittances to their
families, thus increasing the wage available for their own consumption,
or for skills upgrading. This, in turn, could increase productivity
through better health and human resources outcomes. Higher productivity
will increase overall output and labour demand. If a basic income grant
is successful in boosting long-term growth, the fiscal burden of the
transfer would be reduced. The issue of whether a basic income grant can
serve as a key intervention for poverty reduction has been debated in
the case of South Africa" (pp.141-142).
-From BIEN
The New Economics Foundation, “The Great Transition” The New Economics
Foundation, October 19, 2009
In their recent report The Great Transition, the New Economics Foundation argues that a complete
restructuring of society and the economy is required. In particular the
authors recommend 'the creation of Citizens' Endowments of up to £25,000
for all people on reaching the age of 21 to enable them to invest in
their future, as well as Community Endowments to provide commonly owned
assets to invest in our local neighborhoods. Both would be funded by a
proposed increase in inheritance tax on all estates to 67%.'
www.neweconomics.org/publications/great-transition
-From the Citizens Income Trust
Burczak, Theodore (2009), ‘Why Austrian Socialism’, The Review of Austrian Economics, 22 (3), September
2009, pp.297-300.
This article is part of a symposium on Burczak’s book Socialism After Hayek (published in 2006 by The University of
Michigan Press). The central thesis defended in this short paper is that
socialist objectives can be achieved in a market context with the rule
of law if market socialism were to take the form of competitive
worker-owned and self-managed enterprises, supplemented by universally
available welfare redistributions, which could include a basic income,
universal capital grants, or education and health insurance vouchers.
-From BIEN
Kirchgässner, Gebhard (2009), ‘Critical Analysis of Some Well-Intended Proposals to Fight Unemployment’, Analyse & Kritik 31
(1), 2009, pp.25-48.
In this paper it is asked whether it is meaningful to state a ‘right to work’ as a basic human right to be
written down in the constitution, for example, whether working time
should generally be reduced, and whether those who do not have (or find)
a job should get a guaranteed minimal income. The author argues that
all three demands have to be rejected, at least in the radical form in
which they are often stated. They cannot be realized at all or at least
not without impairing other basic human rights. Finally, it is asked
what can be retained from these (usually well-intended) demands.
Journal’s website : http://www.analyse-und-kritik.net/
-From BIEN
Moss, Todd and Lauren Young (2009), 'Saving Ghana from Its Oil: The Case for
Direct
Cash Distribution', Washington DC, Center for Global Development Working Paper, issue
186, October 2009, available at http://www.cgdev.org/
Offe, Claus (2009), ‘Basic Income and the Labor Contract’, Analyse &
Kritik 31 (1), 2009,
pp.25-48.
The paper starts by exploring the negative contingencies that are associated with the core institution of
capitalist societies, the labor contract: unemployment, poverty, and
denial of autonomy. It argues that these are the three conditions that
basic income schemes can help prevent. Next, the three major normative
arguments are discussed that are raised by opponents of basic income
proposals: the idle should not be rewarded, the prosperous don’t need
it, and there are so many things waiting to be done in the world. After
demonstrating that proponents of basic income stand in no way
empty-handed when facing these objections, a third part considers basic
income in functional terms: would its introduction help to resolve
problems of social and economic order that are unlikely to be resolved
in more conventional ways? This paper is an expanded version of what
appeared under the same title in Basic Income Studies 3(1), April 2008.
Journal’s website : http://www.analyse-und-kritik.net/.
Standing, Guy (2009), Work after Globalization. Building Occupational
Citizenship, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar
In this new book, Guy Standing has refined ideas he has been making since the inception of BIEN, seeing
basic income as part of a progressive strategy to replace social
democracy. The book emphasises that in a globalised society, tertiary
work styles are becoming the norm, in which forms of work other than
labour are taking up an increasing proportion of time. In that reality,
conventional social security is woefully inappropriate. Globalisation,
tertiary labour and labour flexibility policies have generated a new
class, the global precariat, which is not just in short-term jobs but is
living an existence without solid identity or a coherent sense of
social solidarity. Unless its insecurities, needs and aspirations are
addressed, the precariat will opt for political extremism. Yet, even
since the financial crisis, chronic inequality is not being addressed.
To combat this, and the growing amount of work-for-labour, a basic
income is essential to give security to the precariat. Standing argues
that a feature of modern consumerism, with its squeeze on time, is a
loss of leisure, as defined by public participation in society. He
concludes that the only form of ‘conditionality’ that could be morally
acceptable as a way of legitimising basic income is that people as
citizens agree to vote and to participate in political activity in some
way. In this, he differs from the view of Tony Atkinson, since the
community labour that Atkinson advocates would have distortionary
effects in the labour market. A basic income linked to participation in
civil and political society would be a way of combating the political
vacuum that is a true crisis in the making. The book, “Work after
Globalisation: Building occupational citizenship” can be purchased at a
discount price via GuyStanding@standingnet.com. See the flyer at http://www.basicincome.org/bien/pdf/Standing_Flyer.pdf.
Tomlinson, John (2009), 'The Northern Territory In(ter)vasion', On Line Opinion.
Australia’s e-journal of social and political debate, 14 October 2009,
available at http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=9558
This article looks at the Australian Federal Government’s intervention into
Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory which involves
suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act, the quarantining of half of
Aboriginal people’s welfare payments for approved purposes and a school
attendance requirement, and comparing that with the Namibian Basic
Income Grant.
-From BIEN
Vanderborght, Yannick and Philippe Van Parijs (2009), 'Basic Income as a way of tackling poverty', ENARgy,
Newsletter of the European Network Against Racism, November 2009, issue
30, pp.10-11. Available at http://www.enar-eu.org/.
This issue of ENAR's Newsletter is entirely devoted to the 2010 European
Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. In their short
contribution, Vanderborght & Van Parijs give an overview of the
reasons why basic income can be seen as an effective measure against
poverty. In the last paragraph, they briefly argue in favour of a
Euro-Dividend, which "might initially take the form of universal child
benefits financed at the EU level".
-From BIEN
Johan Ramakers, “Fighting a Jobless Recovery on a Micro Level, Part 4”
Searchamelia.com, December 13, 2009
http://www.searchamelia.com/2009/12/13/part-4-fighting-a-jobless-re...
This article argues that the question for the near future is not how we can
create more jobs. “The real question becomes how to pass on the
financial accomplishment and productivity of automation, robotics, nano
technology and artificial intelligence to a population as a basic
income.” Ranmakers writes, “Three movements to reward people have been
analyzed as potential: a gift economy, a resource-based economy, and a
guaranteed basic income economy. All three systems are being
experimented with in the more progressive societies around the world.”
Young Margot & Mulvale, James P. (2009), ‘Possibilities and Prospects:
The Debate Over a Guaranteed Income’, Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives, CCPA paper, November 2009.
The idea of a guaranteed income has a long and respectable history in Canadian political and
economic thought. Recently, in the face of both wide criticism of the
Canadian income security system and growing recognition of the
unacceptability of current poverty rates, there has been a resurgence in
calls for implementation of a Canadian guaranteed income. But the idea
is a controversial one; progressive activists, academics, and
politicians disagree about the desirability and the practicality of a
guaranteed income. This report traces the history of guaranteed income
proposals in Canada, reviews the arguments in favor and against, and
suggests a number of other social welfare measures that should be
central elements of any reform program, but that guaranteed income
debates often ignore. Available online at http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/possibilities...-
prospects
-From BIEN
The Citizen’s Income Trust, The Citizen’s Income Newsletter Issue 1, 2010
The latest issue of the CIT Newsletter contains, A progress report, News, a conference announcement, a review article on
Wilkinson and Pickett’s The Spirit Level, and book reviews. It is online
at www.citizensincome.org.
Social Justice Ireland, “Policy Briefing,” February 2010
http://www.socialjustice.ie/content/policy-briefing-poverty-februar...
The latest Policy Briefing from Social Justice Ireland addresses the issue
of Poverty and is published February 1, 2010. It argues that the Irish
Government and the EU should adopt a 'zero poverty' target to be reached
by 2020. One of the proposals contained in the Briefing is that
Government should move to a Basic Income system. Ireland had the
resources to introduce a BI system in the past decade but chose not to
do so. John Marangos. 2008. “Thomas Paine (1737-1809) and Thomas Spence
(1750-1814) on land ownership, land taxes and the provision of citizens'
dividend,” International Journal of Social Economics Volume 35, Issue:
5, pp. 313 – 325
This historical article discusses one of the first proposals for a Stakeholder grant and one of the first proposals for
full-fledge basic income.
“Cantwell's Cap-and-Trade Bill: Almost Genius”
Alan Durning and Eric de Place, Sightline Daily: Northwest News That Matters, 12/11/2009
Cantwell's climate bill aims high but misses. Try again?
http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2009/12/11/almost-ge...
This article gives a through evaluation of Senator Maria Cantwell’s bill for
a cap-and-dividend approach to global warming. It finds both good and
bad in the proposal, and it is optimistic that the proposal can be
improved.
Keith Rankin, “Tax Reform in Pictures” Scoop: Independent News
This online article include tables that show, for individual taxpayers, average and marginal tax rates for: the status
quo; conservative reform options that recognize the comparatively high
rates of tax that low income that New Zealanders pay; and less
conservative (but even more principled) "refundable tax credit" options
that integrate a flat tax (inclusive of ACC) with a basic universal
benefit.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1003/S00196.htm
12. UPCOMING EVENTS
JOINT USBIG AND BIEN CANADA CONFERENCE, Montreal, April 15-16
See story above.
THIRTEETH BIEN CONGRESS, Sao Paulo Brazil, June 30-July 2
See story above.
GUY STANDING MAKES SEVERAL APPEARANCES IN NORTH AMERICA
Guy Standing will make a series of presentations of his book in Universities in
Canada and the United States this spring. His book, Work after
Globalisation: Building Occupational Citizenship (Edward Elgar), argues
that the growth of the “precariat,” the growth of more forms of work
that are not labor and the erosion of public participation in
deliberative democracy combine to provide a richer set of arguments in
favor of moving towards a basic income as a citizenship right. The
appearances include Rutgers University (March 15-16), UCLA (April 1),
Berkeley (April 5), North Carolina, Chapel Hill (April 9),
Massachusetts, Amherst (April 12), MIT (April 13), Carleton (April 19),
New School of Public Research (April 20) and Wesleyan (April 21). He is
also due to present at the joint USBIG-BIEN Canada Conference in
Montreal on April 15. All of these events are open to the public. Guy
Standing is honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network and a
professor of economic security at the University of Bath. For more
information about any of these presentations contact: Guy Standing
GuyStanding@standingnet.com
DEGROWTH CONFERENCE, Barcelona March 26-29
This conference will have a session entitled “Basic income and income ceiling” asking the questions,
“How can we politically implement a basic income for all? How can we
reform taxation and other policies to impose a ceiling on high incomes?”
Information about the conference session is available at:
http://www.degrowth.eu/v1/index.php?id=90&L=0
13. RECENT EVENTS
Annual meeting of BIEN Denmark
Copenhagen, Demark, February 27, 2010
According to the BIEN Newsletter, BIEN Denmark held its annual meeting in Copenhagen, on February 27, 2010. Bruna Augusto
Pereira and Marcus Vinicius joined the meeting, and talk about the
progress of Basic Income in Brazil.
For more information contact: Per Sorensen
perso1367@gmail.com
Report on the ReCivitas project
Symposium: “Activation or Basic Income? Towards a Sustainable Social Framework”
Tokyo, Japan, February 26, 2010
According to BIEN, this international Symposium was organized under supervision of Prof. Miyamoto Taro from
Hokkaido University, within the framework of the ongoing discussion
about welfare reform in Japan. Guest speakers included Jorgen Goul
Andersen (Aarhus University, Denmark), and Yannick Vanderborght (BIEN
& Louvain University, Belgium). Official organizers are the Welfare
Regime Research Project (JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research), the
International Committee, Society for the Study of Social Policy
(Japan), with the cooperation of the Economic Policy Institute for
Quality Life, Advanced Institute for Law and Politics, Hokkaido
University, and Global COE Program 'New Global Law and Policy for
Multi-agential Governance'
For more information, please email: 226sympo@juris.hokudai.ac.jp
On February 27, Al Sheahen gave a one-hour talk on BIG to a group of 30 students in a "Wealth and Poverty"
class at California State University-Dominguez in Carson, CA. Al
Sheahen is a member of the USBIG Organizing Committee and author of
Guaranteed income: the right to economic security. The talk was
organized by Professor Frank Stricker, author of Why America Lost the
War on Poverty...and How to Win It, UNC Press 2007.
Lecture, "The Town Without Poverty"
The Hamilton Spectator Auditorium, Hamilton, Ontario, February 25, 2010
According to BIEN, within the framework of the "Science in the City" lecture series, organized the Hamilton
Spectator in partnership with McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada), Evelyn L. Forget (University of Manitoba) gave a talk on a
basic income experiment in Canada. In 1974 a small town in the Prairies
(code-named River City) became the subject of a fascinating social
experiment: every family was guaranteed a basic income. The experiment
was paid for by the federal government and the province of Manitoba, and
its goal was to determine whether people would stop working or reduce
the number of hours they worked as a consequence. The money flowed until
1979. The data collected were never analyzed. Instead, it was
warehoused and the radical social experiment was largely forgotten. Was
quality of life affected by the experiment? Were people healthier? Were
they happier? Did the children stay in school longer? Evelyn Forget's
research team was able to access the administrative database for
provincial health insurance to identify everyone who lived in "River
City" during the experiment, and to compare their health and social
outcomes with those of other Manitobans matched on the basis of age, sex
and family composition who lived in similar Prairie towns.
For further information: http://www.mcmaster.ca/research/sciencecity/forget.htm
February 3, 2010, University of Karlsruhe
On Wednesday, February 3rd, Bruna Augusto Pereira and Marcus Vinicius Brancaglione dos Santos reported
about experiences with the ReCivitas pilot project in Quantiga Velho
with Sao Paulo. The project distributes direct cash benefits to those
most in need. The report was contained as part of a lecture by Prof.
Werner. Afterwards the students and presenters participated in a
conversation on the realization possibilities of the basic income. This
talk was part of a series of appearances the ReCivitas representantives
will be making in Western Europe. More information about ReCivitas is
online at: www.recivitas.org.br.
Inaugural Congress of South Korea's Basic Income Network
Seoul, South Korea, January 27-28, 2010
See story on the South Korean Network
Debate: Women, Crisis and Basic Income
Perugia, Italy, January 16, 2010
According to BIEN, this debate was organized by a national forum of women.
Cristina Morini, member of Bin Italia, and Luca Santini, president of
Bin Italia, took part in the discussion.
Further info: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=156
Guaranteed Income and Social Rights
Carpenito Romano, Italy, December 5, 2009
BIEN reports, Carpenito Romano is a small city in the Province of Rome,
Lazio Region, Italy. The Mayor of the city took part in this meeting,
and discussed the regional (Lazio) law on minimum income. Other speakers
focused on the economic crisis and new forms of poverty. Sandro Gobetti
from the basic income network BIN Italia argued in favor of a true
basic income.
Further info: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=152
Naples, Italy, November 27-28, 2009: Stakeholder's forum against poverty
The Italian basic income network Bin Italia took part in the Stakeholder's
Forum against poverty which was organized by several associations, in
cooperation with the Italian government and the European Commission, in
preparation of the 2010 European year against poverty. Bin Italia,
including its President Luca Santini, coordinated the session about
basic needs and guaranteed income on November 27th. Honorary
co-president of BIEN Guy Standing gave a talk during one of the plenary
sessions. See: http://www.scribd.com/doc/22357271/Programme-Fight-Against-Poverty-En
-From BIEN
Public Policies, Basic Income and Health
Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 25, 2009
BIEN reports this conference took place at the CEMUPRO (Centro de Estudios Municipales y Provinciales), a
well-known Argentinian think thank. Speakers included Rubén Lo Vuolo
(CIEPP, Red Argentina de Ingreso Ciudadano) and Pablo Bonnazzola
(CEMUPRO, Buenos Aires). Further information: www.ingresociudadano.org
Bilbao, Spain, November 19-21, 2009: 9th Symposium of Red Renta Basica
The 9th Symposium of the Spanish basic income network Red Renta Basica was
held in Bilbao, the Basque Country. It started in the evening of
November 19th, with a video conference by Pablo Yanes (Universidad
Autónoma de la Ciudad de México). The following two days were mainly
devoted to a discussion of three issues: Basic Income, Employment and
Human Activity; Political Feasibility of Basic Income; Basic Income and
Social Movements. Featured speakers included Daniel Raventós, Iratxe
Arriola, Igor Mera, Yannick Vanderborght, José Luis Rey, José Antonio
Noguera, Iñaki Uribarri, Luis Sanzo, Gorka Moreno, Montse Cervera,
Florent Marcellesi, and Iñaki Carro. PDF versions of the papers are
available at http://ixsimposiorb.com/cd/.
The symposium got press coverage in Gara. See the two following links:
http://www.gara.net/paperezkoa/20091121/167854/es/Buena/con/crecimi...
http://www.gara.net/paperezkoa/20091126/168834/es/Con/la/renta/basi...
Rome, Italy, November 20, 2009: Guaranteed income as a European right
One day of debate organised by Bin Italia and other associations, in the
framework of the "guaranteed income in Europe" appeal that was launched
in May 2009, just before the European elections. The meeting also
launched the idea of a "guaranteed income as a right for Europeans"
within the framework of the 2010 European year against poverty. Euro-MP
Jean Lambert (European Greens) took part in the meeting, as well as the
representative for the Regione Lazio, who promoted the regional law on a
guaranteed minimum income. The meeting program: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=142
-From BIEN
Basic income conference
Rosario, Argentina, November 13, 2009:
According to BIEN, an Argentinean Basic Income conference was organized by the Centro de Participación para la Elaboración Legislativa
(CePEL), at the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Statistics, National
University of Rosario (Argentina). It included a talk entitled 'What do
we mean when we talk about a basic income?' by Elsa Beatriz Gil (Red
Argentina de Ingreso Ciudadano). CePEL’s website is http://www.cepel.net/
Perugia, Italy, November 6, 2009: Women and basic income
Participants in this meeting included Andrea Fumagalli and Cristina Morini from the Italian
basic income network Bin Italia. As in the Lazio region, the local
political actors in Umbria are advocating a regional law on a guaranteed
minimum income. Topics such as the transformation of work, the working
poor, and the role of women were also addressed. For further
information: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=141.
Rome, Italy, November 3, 2009: The necessity of a guaranteed income
On November 3, 2009, Sandro Gobetti, Giuseppe Bronzini, Corrado Del Bò,
Alberto Guariso and Cristina Tajani from Bin Italia spoke at the
"ComPa", the national forum of public administration in Italy. The theme
of the debate was "the necessity of a guaranteed income". The
representative for the Regione Lazio (Italy), who promoted the regional
law on a guaranteed minimum income, was also among the participants. For
further information:
http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=140.
-From BIEN
14. NEW DISCUSSION PAPERS
A Basic Income Guarantee as Reparations for Group Injustice
Richa, December, 2009
Abstract: This paper looks at the issue of reparations for group injustice,
mainly in the USA, and suggests a basic income guarantee as a possible
means of addressing that issue. The need for and legitimacy of such
reparations are first established. The author details some personal
experience with the issue, which includes encountering frequent
resistance to the idea. A basic income guarantee as a means of getting
past much of that resistance is then discussed. That is followed by a
brief discussion of benefits and limitations. The paper concludes that
implementation of a basic income guarantee is the single best way to
right the injustices suffered by people due to their inclusion in
certain cultural/ethnic groups.
Stone Age Anthropology vs. Modern Political Philosophy: Evidence of Five False Factual Claims
Karl Widerquist, November 2009
Abstract: Political Theorists often make empirical claims with little or no supporting evidence. A surprising
number of such empirical claims can be informed by anthropological and
archeological studies of prehistoric societies—studies widely ignored by
the political theorists making the claims. Often, philosophers are less
than clear about whether their statements about the Stone Age are
empirical claims or merely illustrative examples. This study shows that
many important political theories do in fact rely on unsubstantiated
empirical claims that can be informed by existing evidence about
prehistoric societies.
This study a****ses the following five claims: (1) Human interaction naturally creates great economic and
social inequality. (2) A permanent commitment to obey a sovereign
government is the only alternative to an unacceptable state of nature.
(3) Laissez faire capitalism has greater “negative liberty” than any
other system. (4) Everyone today lives better than everyone did before
natural resources were appropriated as private property. (5) Individuals
appropriate property; collectives interfere with it.
This study demonstrates how these claims are essential to commonly-used
justification of property and the state. It carefully reviews existing
literature pertaining to these claims, revealing that they are not
verified (and perhaps are substantially refuted) by empirical evidence:
(1) Human equality has been maintained in some societies without
interference. (2) Many societies known to anthropology have had no
permanent commitment to any set of laws without degenerating into war of
all against all. (5) The “negative liberty” of hunter-gatherers
dominates that of propertyless people under capitalism. (4) It might be
possible to make the claim that the average modern person is better off
in a modern society than in a hunter-gatherer society, but the least
advantaged people in society today are not better off and in many ways
worse off than hunter-gathers. (5) There is little evidence at all for
an individualist origin of property rights; early ownership was either
collective or dominated by individuals who also claimed the right to
govern.
15. NEW LINKS
BIEN Canada Website
Our sister network north of the border, BIEN Canada, has launched its website. It
contains news and information about BIG and about the joint USBIG-BIEN
Canada Conference in Montreal. The site was originally designed by
Jurgen De Wispelaere. The organizers of BIEN Canada will refine and add
information to the website over time. It is online at: http://biencanada.wordpress.com
Impact of Social Benefits
Socialsecurityextension.org now has a matrix on the “Impact of Social Benefits” around the world. The Matrix presents
available evidence on the effects of different social transfers programs
around the world. This evidence results from a desk review on the
social transfers domain and consists of quotes extracted directly from
the literature reviewed. The evidence contained in the matrix can be
searched using different criteria. You can search by type of impact
(e.g. education impacts) in which case you can further specify that type
of impact (e.g. school attendance or school enrollment). In addition to
the type of impact you can search the evidence by kind of benefit, type
of program, region/country and for specific categories (e.g. extreme
poor). For each evidence resulting from your search the name of the
program and the original bibliographical reference are identified and
you can further click to obtain more information on the program and the
original doc**ent quoted. According to its creator, Ian Orton of the
International Labour Organization, many of the programs that can be
scrutinized with this matrix share the same logic of Basic Income (BI).
Thus for all those interested in the BI it will be an important research
tool as one can quickly gain access to specific details as to the
impact of social transfers (e.g. the impact of family benefits on child
labor in Latin America or impact of social pensions on labor market
participation). Orton finds that social transfers schemes to have a
generally favorable impact on all a number of criteria.
The Matrix is online at:
http://www.socialsecurityextension.org/gimi/gess/ShowWiki.do?wid=59
For questions about it, contact Ian Orton:
orton@ilo.org
Share the World’s Resources endorses a basic income
Share The World's Resources (STWR) is a nongovernmental organization funded entirely
through private donations which advocates for governments to secure
basic human needs by sharing essential resources such as water, energy
and staple food. In a position paper entitled, “Economic Sharing &
Alternatives: Crises and Opportunities in Changing Times” Published
February 10, 2010, STWR endorsed the basic income guarantee, writing
“The ethical benefit is immense, because it is a planetary scandal that
10 million children die every year of ridiculous causes; these children
have nothing to do with our political and corporate infamy.”
The STWR webside, including its discussion of BI is online at:
http://www.stwr.org/economic-sharing-alternatives/crises-and-opport...
A Basic income for Haiti?
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in Haiti. On February 3, 2010, the death toll had
swelled to 200,000. Several basic income supporters are now advocating
the idea of a basic income grant to foster the reconstruction of the
country from a bottom-up perspective, echoing Guy Standing's plea for
"Tsunami Recovery Grants" in 2005. At the initiative of Alex Hornung
(Luxembourg), a "BIG for Haiti" Facebook Group was started, and a
reflection launched about the idea to pay a basic income of
approximately EUR10 to every Haitian. Alain Massot, a Professor at Laval
University in Canada, argued along the same lines in a column published
on January 28, 2010. Jean-Paul Brasseur, head of VIVANT-Europe, has
suggested the implementation of a basic income of EUR6, funded by the
citizens of the European Union.
Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=291135833623&ref=nf
Jean-Paul Brasseur’s proposal:
http://www.vivanteurope.org/, see Feb. 2010 issue of “Vivant électronique”
Alain Massot's column:
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/opinions/201001/28/01-944053-un-revenu-de...
Alex Hornung:
kotpela@pt.lu
-From BIEN
Fighting a Jobless Recovery on a Micro Level
An article by Johan Ramakers (Ph.D. Econ) on SearchAmelia.com, in which he argues that "The question for our near
future is not how we can create more jobs, especially noting that much
of the recent job growth in the USA has also been in lower wage service
industry jobs with limited to no benefits and little job security, so,
even when job availability would increase, they are not of the same
economic quality as in past decades. The real question becomes how to
pass on the financial accomplishment and productivity of automation,
robotics, nano technology and artificial intelligence to a population as
a basic income to build from."
http://www.searchamelia.com/2009/12/13/part-4-fighting-a-jobless-re...
-From BIEN
YES WE CA$H! in Italy
This movement advocates the introduction of a minimum income in the Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy.
"The goal is simply a basic income for anyone who needs it. We don't
want it to be linked to wage labour, it won't depend on the claimant
looking for work or relate to their ability to look for work; it will
only depend on whether you earn less than subsistence wages/income...
One debate we have planned is to host a talk by Luciano Gallino, an
important sociologist who is an advocate of a social wage, along with
other researchers and academics involved with BIN (Basic Income Network)
that campaigns for a social wage throughout Italy. We also have events
planned in other cities in E-R like Ferrara, Parma, Reggio Emilia,
Rimini etc during the election campaign."
For further information: http://libcom.org/news/yes-we-cah-welfare-struggles-precarity-italy...
Basic income on Facebook
This Facebook group devoted to basic income already has over 300 members
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=10334829890#!/grou...
-From BIEN
YouTube Video Series on Basic income: “Lessons on Basic Income”
Joerg Drescher has created a YouTube video series with information and interviews about Basic Income. It’s online at:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=DBF5F5CD3B69C813
“Grundeinkommen.”A new film on Unconditional Basic Income Available in more tha 10
Languages at: http://www.bijankafi.de/entry_archives/media/film_on_unconditional_...
16. NEW MEMBERS
Ten new members have joined the USBIG Network in the last three months. The
USBIG Network now has 199 members from 34 U.S. states and 27 foreign
countries. Membership in USBIG is free and open to anyone who shares its
goals. To become a member of USBIG go to www.usbig.net, and click on
“membership.”
The ten new members of the USBIG Network are: Dottie Stevens, Mattapan, MA; Martin Bassani, Parker, CO; Frederik H. L.
Reinbold, Aranjuez, Spain; Cole Holiday, Denver, CO; James D. Quirk,
Huntsville, AL; Denise Villamia, Ridgewood, NY; Jean Boyd, Spokane, WA;
Robert T. Hill, New York, NY; Jeanette Blalock-Davis, Hancock, MN;
Jeremy Miller, West Sacramento, CA.
17. LINKS AND OTHER INFO
For links to dozens of BIG websites around the world, go to http://www.usbig.net/links.html.
These links are to any website with information about BIG, but USBIG
does not necessarily endorse their content or their agendas.
The USBIG Network Newsletter
Editor: Karl Widerquist
Copyeditor: Mike Murray and the USBIG Committee
Research: Paul Nollen; and Yannick Vanderborght of the BIEN NewsFlash
Special help on this issue was provided by Jeff Smith, Jurgen de Wispeleare, Kieran Oberman, and Amanad
Reilly
The U.S. Basic Income Guarantee (USBIG) Network publishes this newsletter. The Network is a discussion group on basic income
guarantee (BIG) in the United States. BIG is a generic name for any
proposal to create a minimum income level, below which no citizen's
income can fall. Information on BIG and USBIG can be found on the web
at: http://www.usbig.net.
You may copy and circulate articles from this newsletter, but please
mention the source and include a link to http://www.usbig.net.
If you know any BIG news; if you know anyone who would like to be added
to this list; or if you would like to be removed from this list; please
send me an email:
Karl@Widerquist.com
As always, your comments on this newsletter and the USBIG website are gladly welcomed.
Thank you,
-Karl Widerquist, editor
Karl@Widerquist.com
=======================================
KARL WIDERQUIST
Visiting Associate Professor in Philosophy
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar
Mailing address:
3300 Whitehaven Street, N.W.
Suite 2100, Harris Building
Washington, D.C. 20007-2401
US cell phone: +1 504-261-0891
Qatar cell phone: +974 508-9323
Qatar fax: +974 457-8231
EMAIL: Karl@widerquist.com
PERSONAL WEBSITE: http://www.widerquist.com/
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