It seems that from the mining peak in 2010-11 all the way through the mining ban, the Supreme Court judgement and the unfair lease renewals, the main Goan donors of the BJP, the Congress and even the Communist Party of India were mining firms. Now we know why there was no opposition to the renewal of the mining leases. The …
Author: Rahul Basu
Citizen’s Dividend and Basic Income
It is enlightened, it is sensible, and it is eminently feasible: Guy Standing, BIEN co-founder and honorary co-president
Can Norway learn from Goa?
Our movement has been inspired by the permanent funds of Norway and Alaska. In a norwegian article titled “With Oil Fund as a model“, Kenneth Bo Nielsen describes the Goenchi Mati proposal, and considers whether there are aspects for Norway to learn from. The Norwegian newpaper, Bergens Tidende, has published the article.
Reduce volatility of state finances
The Pew Charitable Trusts are doing a series of studies on the fiscal health of US states. Their paper, “From Volatile Severance Taxes to Sustained Revenue” discusses how money received from minerals is a significant cause of volatility in the state government budgets. They also discuss how minerals deplete and often they leave nothing once the minerals are exhausted. While they suggest greater …
What can we learn from Alaska
Alaska is the global role model for a Citizen’s Dividend, and we have copied Alaska as well. However, there is another lesson to be learnt from Alaska: how much should we deposit into the Permanent Fund. We have argued in an earlier blog post that the only solution is to deposit 100% into the Permanent Fund. This avoids consumption of …
GMM congratulates Louisiana on its new Fund
As was reported earlier, the US state of Louisiana was to vote on a constitutional amendment to set up a Revenue Stabilization Fund. This vote was on November 8, along with the US Presidential Elections. Voters approved the amendment to set up the fund, 53.6%:46.4%. Welcome to the club of natural resource funds Louisiana. #PermanentFund #NaturalResourceFund
How a similar movement was killed a 100 years ago
Henry George was a journalist-economist-politician who is not well known today, but in the late 1800s, was one of the most popular and famous persons of the US. He had a number of interesting economic proposals that threatened the existing power structures through elegant solutions that were win-win for the vast majority. For instance he proposed a tax on land (but not …
How everyone in the US can get $200 a month
Authors James Boyce and Peter Barnes discuss in a recent article how a universal income of $200 per month could be financed from fees charged for the commons. Peter Barnes is a long standing supporter of citizens dividends from the commons. #BasicIncome #CitizensDividend
Calling all parties to protect our children’s inheritance
The Goenchi Mati Movement today releases its Manifesto for the Goa Assembly Elections 2017. The movement asks all political parties to include it in their manifestos.
Today’s environmentalism
Dr. Madhav Gadgil writes a fascinating article in the Economic & Political Weekly (EPW) drawing extensively from his experience with the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) and with mining in Goa. He recapitulates the horror experienced with mining in Goa, including the difficulties tribals have found in establishing a cooperative to undertake mining in their village.