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Why did Alaska legislate the Permanent Fund and Dividend

Rachel Waldholz explains in the Alaska Public some of the reasoning behind the Permanent Fund and Dividend. Some quotes from Alaska Gov. Jay Hammond (who was responsible) “You’ve got to remove the money” “Put it behind a rope, where you cannot utilize it for flamboyant expenditures.” “I wanted to transform oil wells pumping oil for a finite period, into money wells pumping money for …

The realistic Swiss

Switzerland will be having a referendum later this year on whether to implement a Universal Basic Income or not. There’s been a survey done, and the results are interesting. Only 2% would give up working. 56% of the population thinks Basic Income will never be implemented. People under 35 are more optimistic – 58% feel it will be implemented. However, …

Sudden burst of interest in the UK

A few weeks back, the Green MP Caroline Lucas tabled a discussion in the House of Commons on Basic Income. Now the Labour Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell says the Labour party will not rule out a Universal Basic Income. Incidentally, some of his key advisors are proponents of Basic Income. John McDonnell also has a connection to Goa – his wife is Goan. …

Join the India Network for Basic Income

Exciting news. Announcing the India Network for Basic Income (INBI). INBI is a community of professionals, academics, journalists, students, activists and anyone interested in the idea. India has a number of exciting initiatives in Universal Basic Income (UBI). Sewa & UNICEF conducted the famous Basic Income pilot in 12 villages in MP over 18 months. The Citizen’s Dividend that we are proposing …

Basic Income being considered seriously in Canada

Many levels of Government in Canada are seriously considering Basic Income. “Jean-Yves Duclos, federal minister of families, children and social development, stated to both CBC Radio and the Globe and Mail last week that a guaranteed minimum income is a policy worthy of discussion, once the promised enhancements to child tax benefits occur — an existing kind of minimum income …

Five countries already giving Basic Income

Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend is the most famous example of a Universal Basic Income. It is of course a sub-national, being a part of the USA. There are five nations that are giving a Universal Basic Income. Can you guess which ones? Interestingly, all are Asian. The five Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia and Iran: Singapore: Growth Dividends share part …

Even a little goes a long way

Here’s an article by Roberto A. Ferdman in The Washington Post about the remarkable impact of Basic Income. It discusses a study reported in NBER on a set of low income children in North Carolina, USA. “This was hugely important to the development of the children, to their wellbeing” said Akee. “And the effect wasn’t small either—it was actually fairly large.” “Not only did the extra …

We can’t afford these billionaires

Daniel Raventós writes in the Counterpunch on how skewed political power has become with the rise of the billionaires. Its impacts on US politics is clear for all the see. It is worth remembering that India’s inequality is considerably higher than the US, making the problem harder and more urgent.