Universal Basic Income – the time has come
Feasta co-hosted two webinars on May 10 and May 17, at noon EST/5pm GMT, which explored the experience and the imperative of instituting a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for all people.
Basic Income Group
Many Feasta members are advocates and activists for universal basic income and in 2018 they formed a Feasta Basic Income group. This group is particularly focussed on the role that basic income can play in achieving a sustainable society and economy, both in Ireland and globally.
The group hosted an event called ‘We need to talk about basic income’ at Cloughjordan on Sept 23. They also met with members of Basic Income Ireland and the Green Party on Oct 25 at Leinster House in Dublin. Among other issues, they discussed the connections between BI and the idea of degrowth, the tie-ins between BI and alternative tax bases, and the desirability or otherwise of pilot programmes.
Below you can see a range of articles on basic income, written by our group members.
Basic Income and health in Ireland
This paper by Dr Elizabeth Cullen draws on research to explore how basic income could improve the health and well-being of all Irish people, including the most vulnerable.
Thomas Paine’s 1797 call for a Basic Income: a new paper tells the full story
"With the Covid-19 crisis, calls for a basic income are gaining new momentum. The U.S., and other countries too, could enjoy the immense society-wide benefit of a Basic Income if they are willing to set aside the sour grapes argument...of not providing a social safety net to out-groups," writes Brent Ranalli.
Podcast: Basic Income and the global pandemic struggle
Seán Ó'Conlaín and Caroline Whyte interview Dr Evelyn Forget, who describes the social and health effects of a basic income trial carried out in Canada in the 1970s. Then Paul Harnett and Laura Bannister make a case for a World Basic Income that would go to everyone on the planet, as a way to help counter the COVID-19 outbreak.
Basic income now: a high-leverage system intervention for sanity, humanity and ecology
This paper by Anne Ryan makes the case for basic income as a key policy instrument for addressing our problems, and is an introduction to a series of forthcoming blog posts that will include excerpts from, and up-to-date commentary on, her book Enough is Plenty.
Imagining alternative letters to creditors in a basic income world
800,000 workers in the US are currently furloughed without pay due to the current conflict between Congress and the President. What impact might a basic income have on those workers? Mike Sandler suggests some possibilities.
