BASIC INCOME EARTH NETWORK, BIEN

BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010
BIEN
BASIC INCOME EARTH NETWORK
NEWSFLASH 60 February 2010
www.basicincome.org
The Basic Income Earth Network was founded in 1986 as the Basic Income European
Network. It expanded its scope from Europe to the Earth in 2004. It serves as a link between
individuals and groups committed to or interested in basic income
and fosters informed discussion on this topic throughout the world.
The present NewsFlash has been prepared with the help of Paul Nollen, John Baker, Simon
Birnbaum, David Casassas, Sandro Gobetti, Rubén Lo Vuolo, James Mulvale, Jose Antonio
Noguera, Richard Pereira, Per Sørensen, Eduardo Matarazzo Suplicy, Mayuko Tanigawa,
Philippe Van Parijs, Karl Widerquist, Almaz Zelleke, and Thérèse Davio.
This NewsFlash can be downloaded as a PDF document on our website
www.basicincome.org
CONTENTS
Editorial: Get more involved with BIEN!
1. Events
2. Glimpses of National Debates
3. Publications
4. New Links
5. About BIEN
_____
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 2
EDITORIAL: Get more involved with BIEN!
The Basic Income Earth Network's Executive Committee needs volunteers who want to get
more involved. We are especially in need of (1) people willing to help write, edit, and gather
news for the NewsFlash, (2) people willing to help design and maintain the website, and (3)
people willing to help maintain our contacts with BIEN's affiliates around the world. Anyone
interested in volunteering should contact the co-chair, Karl Widerquist at
Karl@widerquist.com

BIEN' EC
1. EVENTS
PAST EVENTS
* BUENOS AIRES (AR), 27 August 2009: Basic Income for Children: Why and How?
Rubén Lo Vuolo (CIEPP, Red Argentina Ingreso Ciudadano), Aldo Neri (Red Argentina de
Ingreso Ciudadano) and Laura Pautassi (CIEPP, Red Argentina de Ingreso Ciudadano) took
part in this public debate held at the Argentinian Congress (House of Representatives) on the
topic 'Basic Income for Children: Why and How?'. This Debate was part of an ongoing
parliamentary discussion, and members of congress attended. Further information:
www.ingresociudadano.org

* MENDOZA (AR), 3-4 September 2009: Basic Income on the Public Policy Agenda
Rubén Lo Vuolo (CIEPP, Red Argentina de Ingreso Ciudadano) gave a talk on "Basic Income
in the Public Policy Agenda" at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina.
Further information: www.ingresociudadano.org

*ROSARIO (AR), 13 November 2009: Basic income conference
Elsa Beatriz Gil (Red Argentina de Ingreso Ciudadano) gave a talk entitled 'What do we mean
when we talk about a basic income?'. The conference was organized by the Centro de
Participación para la Elaboración Legislativa (CePEL), http://www.cepel.net/ at the Faculty
of Economic Sciences and Statistics, National University of Rosario (Argentina).
* BUENOS AIRES (AR), 25 November 2009: Public Policies, Basic Income and Health
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

* CARPENITO ROMANO (IT), 5 December 2009: Guaranteed Income and Social Rights
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
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 3
from the basic income network BIN Italia argued in favour of a true basic income.
Further info: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=152
* PERUGIA (IT), 16 january 2010: Women, Crisis and Basic Income
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
* SEOUL (KR), 27-28 January 2010: Inaugural Congress of South Korea's Basic Income
Network
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 leftwing
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.).
Two pictures of the event:
http://www.basicincome.org/bien/images/SEOUL_BI1.jpg
http://www.basicincome.org/bien/images/SEOUL_BI2.jpg
For further information: http://basicincome.kr/
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 4
* TORONTO (CA), 1 February 2010: Conference by food activist Raj Patel
British-born American academic and activist Raj Patel, author of the best-seller Stuffed and
Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System (2008), gave a public talk about the
'True cost of food' at the Toronto Reference Library on Monday Feb. 1st, 2010. During
question time, he discussed the "basic income guarantee" as one "interesting solution" to the
current food crises. Among other topics he also focused on women's unpaid work ("which
capitalism cannot function without, but which it exploits by keeping it out of the paid
economy") and the uncounted/unpriced environmental destruction that a basic income could
help to avoid.
Conference announcement in The Toronto Star:
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/756239--raj-patel-coming-to-toronto-for-free-talk
Raj Patel's official website: http://rajpatel.org/
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
* HAMILTON (CA), 25 February 2010: "The Town Without Poverty"
Within the framework of the "Science in the City" lecture series, organized the Hamilton
Spectator in partnership with McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada), Evelyne L.
Forget (University of Manitoba) will give 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 was 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? Evelyny 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.
Thursday February 25, 2010, 7 p.m., The Hamilton Spectator Auditorium.
For further information: http://www.mcmaster.ca/research/sciencecity/forget.htm
* TOKYO (JP), 26 February 2010: 'Activation or Basic Income? Towards a Sustainable
Social Framework'
This international Symposium is organized under supervision of Prof. Miyamoto Tarô from
Hokkaidô University, within the framework of the ongoing discussion about welfare reform in
Japan. Guest speakers include Jørgen 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,
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 5
Hokkaido University, and Global COE Program 'New Global Law and Policy for Multiagential
Governance'
Time & Date: 14:00-17:00, February 26, 2010
Venue: Room 'Botan/Ayame' on 3rd Floor, Hotel Grand Palace, Tokyo
http://www.grandpalace.co.jp/english/access/top.html
Registration: Please send an e-mail to 226sympo@juris.hokudai.ac.jp
with your name, affiliation, e-mail address, and phone number. Registration is accepted for
the first 40 applicants.
* COPENHAGEN (DK), 27 February 2010: Annual meeting of BIEN Denmark
BIEN Denmark will hold its annual meeting in Copenhagen, on February 27, 2010. Bruna
Augusto Pereira and Marcus Vinicius will join the meeting, and talk about the progress of
Basic income in Brazil. The meeting will take place at:
Kulturhuset Indre by
Charlotte Ammundsens plads 3
1359 København K
For further information: Per Sørensen perso1367@gmail.com
* MONTREAL (CA), 15-16 April, 2010: Conference of USBIG and BIEN Canada
"Basic Income at a Time of Economic Upheaval: A Path to Justice and Stability?" This Basic
Income Conference is organized by CRÉUM Montréal, BIEN Canada and USBIG
Times of economic turmoil raise difficult questions but also offer radical new opportunities to
rethink and perhaps even rebuild the economic fabric of our society. The current global
economic recession is no exception. In recent months a growing number of activists and
scholars have promoted the idea of a Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) as a feasible and
desirable policy instrument to help us out of the current economic crisis.
The prospects and challenges of a BIG policy at a time of economic upheaval is the topic of a
2 day conference held on 15-16 April 2010 at the University of Montréal, hosted by the
Centre de Recherche en Éthique de l'Université de Montréal (CRÉUM), BIEN Canada and
the US Basic Income Guarantee network (USBIG).
This first collaboration between the US and Canadian chapters of the Basic Income Earth
Network (BIEN) includes keynote addresses from Dr. Louise Haagh (University of York),
Prof. Guy Standing (University of Bath), and Senator Eduardo Suplicy (São Paulo, Brasil), 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 (Executive Director of Canada Without Poverty), Al Sheahen
(Executive 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.
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
email Jurgen De Wispelaere at BIGMontreal2010@gmail.com with your name and
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 6
institutional affiliation.
* SAO PAOLO (BR), 30 June & 1-2 July, 2010: 13th BIEN Congress
BIEN is preparing its next Congress, to be held on June 30, July 1st and 2nd, 2010, at the
Faculty of Economics, Administration and Accounting of the University of São Paulo. A new
website has been launched at www.bien2010brasil.com
The deadline for submission of papers and panel proposals is February 25th 2010.
Acceptance of proposals will be communicated by March 25th, 2010 at the latest. This
confirmation of acceptance will be provided earlier to those who submit proposals earlier.
These should be emailed to bien2010.callforpapers@gmail.com.
Details concerning registration for the conference and accommodation are available at the
Congress website: www.bien2010brasil.com
All details are now available at www.bien2010brasil.com See also the editorial above.
* ATLANTA (US), 13-15 August 2010: The Society for the Study of Social Problems
(SSSP) Conference
The Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), an organisation of applied
sociologists/social scientists, will hold its annual conference in Atlanta (US) in 2010. It will
take place on August 13-15, 2010, and will be held at the Sheraton Hotel located at 165
Courtland Street NE, Atlanta, GA. One of the sessions is being organized by Michael A.
Lewis of the Hunter College School of Social Work. The session is entitled "Contested Paths
to Good Policy: Assets, Income, Jobs" and will focus on comparing and contrasting social
policies intended to promote the right to work, the right to income, or asset development.
- From USBIG Newsletter Fall 2009.
2. GLIMPSES OF NATIONAL DEBATES
* ARGENTINA: Towards 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" (document available at
www.ingresociudadano.org). On November 11, 2009, the Argentinian basic income network
Red Argentina de Ingreso Ciudadano published the document "Assignment for children and
Basic Income" with a critical assessment 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
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 7
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
* AUSTRALIA: Report on tax system includes negative income tax proposal
In early 2008, Australian MP Malcolm B. Turnbull asked prominent economist Henry Ergas
(Chairman of an economics consultancy firm, and guest Professor in the Faculty of
Economics at Monash University, Melbourne) to conduct an examination of the many taxes in
Australia at various levels of government, and to report on options for reforming the tax
system. The so-called "Ergas Review" was intended "to outline the scope for reform,
including practical approaches to tax reform to enable a fairer and more efficient tax system
that enhances the prosperity and living standards of Australians". Until now, the report had
never been released. Revealing its contents for the first time, Henry Ergas told the Sydney
Morning Herald (February 4, 2010) that "it set out broad directions for tax reform". Among
the core proposals is a flat income tax rate of 20 per cent combined with a negative income
tax. "Low earners would be exempt from income tax as they are now. The bottom 10 per cent
of earners would receive either tax credits or a 'negative income tax payment' that would
phase out, making the impact 'as close to flat as one could reasonably get'".
Sydney Morning Herald article:
http://www.smh.com.au/business/opposition-henry-review-wants-income-tax-cut-to-20-
20100203-ndjz.html
Website of the Ergas Review: http://www.ergasreview.com/
* BELGIUM: Socialist Party advocates a basic pension
On February 8, 2010, the Flemish Socialist Party (SP.A) 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/showdocument.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
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 8
* EUROPEAN UNION: 2010 is European Year Against Poverty and Social Exclusion
2010 has been officially declared "European Year Against Poverty and Social Exclusion"
within the European Union. Within this framework, the European Anti-Poverty Network
(EAPN) is increasing its efforts to promote the idea of an "Adequate minimum income".
According to EAPN, "24 out of 27 Member States have minimum income schemes in place at
this present time, but there are serious flaws with their accessibility and their adequacy. It is
time to state clearly that adequate Minimum Income schemes are a fundamental prerequisite
for an EU based on social justice and equal opportunities for all."
For further information: http://www.eapn.eu/content/view/16/34/lang,en/
See also: www.adequateincome.eu
* IRELAND: Universal child benefit under threat
The Irish government has decided to cut the rate of Child Benefit (from 166EUR per month
per child to 150 for the first 2 children; from 203 to 187 for additional children), rather than
either means-test it or tax it, as was planned in previous announcements. But in the long-term
universalism seems to be under threat, as it clearly appeared in the budget speech of the
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan (December 9, 2009): "In the Supplementary Budget, I
raised the issue of the unfairness of paying the same level of benefit irrespective of the level
of income of the recipient. Not only is this unfair but it is also unaffordable in current
circumstances. Child Benefit this year will cost €2.5 billion or 12 per cent of Social Welfare
spending. I had hoped to be able to introduce greater equity by making Child Benefit taxable
or means tested but there are legal and logistical reasons why I cannot do so at this stage. For
that reason, the Government has decided to make the changes on the spending side." Social
Justice Ireland published a critical analysis of the Budget, partly focusing on the issue of
child benefits.
Social Justice Ireland report: http://www.socialjustice.ie/
Budget Speech: http://www.budget.gov.ie/Budgets/2010/FinancialStatement.aspx#item14
* ITALY: BIN Italia on tour
The Italian basic income network BIN Italia has recently published a book entirely devoted to
basic income (see NewsFlash 59 for further details). In the first months of 2010, the network
plans several presentations of this volume, under the title "Basic income for all: a real utopia
in the global era". The first presentations took place in Rome on January 20. Next are:
Civitavecchia (Feb. 20), Rome (Feb. 22), Torino, Milano, Pavia, Bologna in March, as well as
several cities in the south of Italy. All details on the "news" page at www.bin-italia.org
* SOUTH KOREA: Growing attention for basic income
The impressive basic income congress organized in Seoul on January 27-28, 2010 (see
'Events' above) gave the remarkable Korean debate on basic income a new dimension. The
idea did not reach the country until the beginning of this century 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 Götz 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
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 9
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).
See: http://basicincome.kr/
* UNITED STATES: Policy report recommends Alaska-style dividend for California
On May 22, 2009, California's Secretary of Environmental Protection Linda Adams appointed
a 17-member Economic and Allocation Advisory Committee (EAAC) to advise on the
implementation of the state's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) and associated
cap-and-trade system that should reduce California greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels
by 2020. The EAAC comprises economic, financial, and policy experts with various
backgrounds and experiences. On January 10, 2010, a draft report was released. It explores in
detail the idea of a dividend for all residents of California. "The return of carbon permit
auction revenues to the public in the form of equal per capita dividends, sometimes called a
"cap-and-dividend" policy, transfers allowance value to households, leaving decisions on the
final use of the money to the public (...) There are several precedents for this approach. One is
the Alaska Permanent Fund which recycles oil-extraction royalties to Alaska residents as
equal per-person dividends. The Alaska fund affirms the principle of common ownership of
nature's wealth and demonstrates that it is feasible for state government to administer a
dividend policy." (pp.56-57). Following this discussion, the draft 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.
All details available at: http://climatechange.ca.gov/eaac/
See also the following report in the Los Angeles Times:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/01/cap-and-trade-california.html
3. PUBLICATIONS
ENGLISH
BASIC INCOME KOREAN NETWORK (2010), Basic Income for All! and Sustainable
Utopia and Basic Income in a Global Era; proceedings of the Seoul Basic Income
International Conference 2010, 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.
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 10
UNITED NATIONS (2009), Rethinking Poverty. Report on the World Situation 2010, 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 programmes argue that a basic income grant
reduces total employment in an economy by reducing labour 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).
FRENCH
BARBIER, Jean-Claude (2008), La longue marche vers l'Europe sociale, Paris: P.U.F.,
279p.
Compared to what social policies have achieved at the level of many European nation-states,
what has been achieved at the European level is very poor indeed. And there are deep reasons
for this, Barbier argues, linked to the diversity of European languages and of the associated
cultures which make Europe's various welfare states very different from one another, very
hard to understand without a good knowledge of each national language, hence very difficult
to compare in more than a superficial way by using "international English", and even more
difficult to harmonize or integrate into a single system.
In this light, Barbier stigmatizes ambitious, yet totally unrealistic, plans for a European
citizen's income, as advocated in particular by the French philosopher Jan-Marc Ferry
(L'allocation universelle, 1995; La question de l'Etat européen, 2000). This discussion, he
says, is pointless because it ignores the diversity of existing social protection systems. No
wonder, therefore, that it "often remains confined to France (franco-française), while
reaching, however, as far as the University of Louvain" (pp. 246-8).
Yet, Barbier does not dismiss the idea entirely, providing some linguistic preconditions are
met. "With generalized multilingualism", he argues, Europe's citizens "will gradually realize,
in 50, 100 or more years, the indispensable precondition for joint deliberation. On the way,
they will perhaps introduce a universal basic income...". In the absence of such a
precondition, "not only is it impossible for a universal basic income or any other financially
significant programme to be collectively 'decided', but moreover, if they were to be adopted,
they would dangerously feed populist and anti-bureaucratic arguments" (pp. 257-8).
GERMAN
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 11
FRANZMANN, Manuel (ed.) (2010), Bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen als Antwort auf
die Krise der Arbeitsgesellschaft, Weilerswist: Velbrück Wissenschaft, 424 pages, ISBN:
978-3-938808-76-4
http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/volltexte/2010/7436/
In response to Gerhard Schröder's labour market reforms ('Agenda 2010') the debate
on basic income experiences a lively renaissance in Germany, that goes well beyond
academic circles. In today's public debate, it represents a fundamental alternative to the
workfare paradigm introduced by the Social Democrats and the Greens in 2003. Workfare has
frightened many citizens, and some of them were attracted by the idea of a basic income,
particularly because of the institutionalization of a culture of distrust towards the unemployed.
Against this background the book brings together several articles, which for the most part date
from a workshop on basic income held at Goethe-University (Frankfurt am Main) in 2006.
The first part is dedicated to a revision of the diagnosis of a "crisis of working society"
as formulated by Hannah Arendt in 1958, and picked up by Ralf Dahrendorf 20 years later
(Oevermann, Schildt). New historical data (Schildt) shows that in Germany the total volume
of work (per capita) is declining since the last quarter of the 19th century (i.e. over a period of
125 years), while Gross Domestic Product is growing. This was obviously made possible by
the tremendous technological progress and the increase in labour productivity. Furthermore,
arguments of basic income opponents often appear to imply proper 'defense mechanisms',
seeking to dismiss any challenge to paid work as a normative model (Franzmann).
Apparently, this traditional "work ethic" is a sanctuary sheltered by a taboo.
The second part includes articles based on case reconstructions, largely conducted
following Oevermann's methodology of Objective Hermeneutics. These analyses focus on the
impact of the dominant "activation" paradigm on adolescents (Daniels & Franzmann & Jung),
unemployed and case managers at the employment office (Behrend & Ludwig-Mayerhofer &
Sondermann, Franke & Suciu). They also take into account the potential of a basic income.
Furthermore, they examine relevant value orientations of persons from the fields of economy,
politics and social work (Müller & Opielka).
The third and last part covers texts on issues related to the feasability of basic income.
They consider methodical aspects (Werner & Presse), problems of legitimity within the
population (Vobruba), positions taken thereon by the main social and political forces
(Vanderborght & Van Parijs), a proposal of the former Prime Minister of Thuriniga Dieter
Althaus to combine basic income ("Solidarisches Bürgergeld") with a health insurance reform
based on "capitation" ("Kopfpauschale") (Franzmann), issues of financing a basic income
(Kumpmann) as well as cultural challenges a basic income poses for individual conceptions
of the good life (Lamla).
The book also includes a number of caricatures by Achim Greser and Heribert Lenz,
who regularly publish their work in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,
the political magazine Stern and the satirical magazine Titanic. The book is also available for
free on the Internet as a pdf-file: http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/volltexte/2010/7436/
See also the following websites with additional material:
www.bedingungsloses-grundeinkommen.de
http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/volltexte/2009/7245/
KOREAN
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 12
BASIC INCOME KOREAN NETWORK (2010), Basic Income for All! and Sustainable
Utopia and Basic Income in a Global Era; proceedings of the Seoul Basic Income
International Conference 2010, Seoul: Seoul National University, 302pp. and 337pp.
http://basicincome.kr/
See "English" section above.
ACKERMAN Bruce, ALSTOTT Anne & VAN PARIJS Philippe, Redesigning Distribution.
Basic Income and Stakeholder Grants, Seoul: Press of Sharing House, 2010, 309p., ISBN 978
89 5810 187 1, www.ncbook.co.kr
A Korean edition of the collection published by Verso (E.O. Wright ed., London & New
York, 2006), edited by Baek Seung-Ho (Catholic University, Seoul).
SPANISH
LO VUOLO, Rubén (ed.), Barbeito, Alberto, Gargarella, Roberto (& al.) (2009), Contra la
Exclusión: La propuesta del Ingreso Ciudadano, Electronic version.
This book, originally published in 1995, presents a general perspective (economical, political,
philosophical and juridical) about the proposal of a basic income, focusing especially on the
socio-economic circumstances of Argentina. It is now available in an electronic version at
www.ingresociudadano.org.
NOGUERA, Jose Antonio (2010), 'La Renta Básica Universal: razones y estrategias', Policy
Paper nº 5, Centro de Estudios Andaluces, Sevilla, January.
This paper offers a review of recent discussions on Basic Income, and makes a concrete
proposal for its implementation and design, which focuses on the intertwining between BI and
the present tax and benefit system. The paper examines the main rationales of the proposal
from the point of view of income transfer policy, and analyses different possible strategies in
order to implement it, from the standpoint of their political and institutional feasibility. It
concludes that the most promising strategy would be to develop simultaneously different
already existing income guarantee programs, until they gradually converge towards a "de
facto" universal and unconditional Basic Income.
The paper is downloadable (upon registration with e-mail and password) at the website of the
Centro de Estudios Andaluces:
http://www.centrodeestudiosandaluces.es/index.php?mod=factoriaideas&cat=0&id=0&idm=4
50&cod=19&cats=1,2,4,5&vid=20
4. NEW LINKS
* A Basic income for Haiti?
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake occured 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
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 13
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-citoyennete-pourles-
haitiens.php
Alex Hornung: kotpela@pt.lu
* Newspaper articles by Eduardo Suplicy
Honorary co-president of BIEN Eduardo Suplicy has published two newspaper articles, in
which he announces the XIIth BIEN Congress:
"O XIII Congresso Internacional da BIEN no Brasil", published by Jornal do Brasil on
December 28, 2009;
"Povos da rua, leis sociais e renda básica", published by Folha de S. Paulo on January 3,
2010.
Both articles are available at http://www.bien2010brasil.com/ (see "clipping"). The latter was
also reproduced by the Conselho Regional de Economia do Rio de Janeiro, as you can see in
http://corecon-rj.blogspot.com/2010/01/folha-de-spaulo_03.html
* Newspaper interview with Guy Standing
On November 26, 2009, left-wing newspaper Il Manifesto (Italy) published an interview with
honorary co-president of BIEN Guy Standing. It is available online at:
http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=148
* Slavoj Žižek and basic income (once again)
BIEN NewsFlash 59 (December 2009) included a link to an interview with Slovenian
philosopher Slavoj Žižek, in which he argued: "I like it as an idea [i.e. basic income] but I
think it's too much of an ideological utopia. For structural reasons, it can't work. It's the last
desperate attempt to make capitalism work for socialist ends". In a recent talk entitled
"Against Charity", he said that "Basic income in capitalism as a laxative in chocolate"
30 minutes in three installments are available online. Discussion of basic income starts about
midway through part I.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzKJaKpig74
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqTQC3FSr44&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhRa6l-YDbg&feature=related
For a summary on a blog: http://www.roper.org.uk/tr/2009/11/index.html
* 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
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 14
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-recovery-on-a-microlevel/
* German basic income television
Videos related to the basic income discussion are now available in several languages on
http://www.grundeinkommen.tv/
* German radio programme on basic income
A German radio programme about the basic income for the World by Rev. Dietmar
Silbersiepe:
http://www.e-k-i-r.de/kirchezumhoeren/mpaudio/W-2009-12-01%20Silbersiepe-Norm.mp3
* Interview with German businessman Götz Werner available in English
German Millionaire is a long-standing advocate of basic income. According to Werner, "The
unemployed exist only because we use the concept of unemployment. Most of the
unemployed have work, it's not like they sit on the couch and watch TV all day. They are
busy in their family, in other social work, in sports clubs. They are doing valuable work.
Someone who cares for their children is much more valuable to society than someone twisting
caps on bottles in the factory."
The full-length interview is available on the Livable Income For Everyone (LIFE) website:
http://www.livableincome.org/agotzwerner.htm
* French Universal Dividend
Members of a French network about 'Universal Dividend' have developed a Basic Income
scenario based on a percentage of the whole monetary mass in circulation.
http://www.creationmonetaire.info
http://appelpourlerevenudevie.org
The monetary approach is discussed on French Wikipedia:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dividende_Universel
Contact address: Stéphane Laborde <stephane.laborde@chaturanga.fr>
* French voters and basic income
A French website asks voters to support candidates to public elections who support the
implmentation of a basic income. www.electeurplus.org
French regional elections will take place in March 2010.
* French Sociologist Robert Castel against basic income
Robert Castel is a fierceful critique of basic income proposals. In a recent interview (in
French), he argus that if implemented a basic income would necessarily be partial, i.e. lower
than the minimum wage, hence would not allow for a minimal standard of living.
See http://www.inegalites.fr/spip.php?article1164&id_mot=30
* 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
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 15
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-
03022010
* 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#!/group.php?gid=10334829
890&ref=search&sid=676348404.666098809..1
5. ABOUT THE BASIC INCOME EARTH NETWORK
Co-chairs:
Ingrid VAN NIEKERK ivanniekerk@epri.org.za, Economic Policy Research Institute, Cape
Town, South Africa
Karl WIDERQUIST Karl@Widerquist.com, Georgetown University School of Foreign
Service in Qatar
Further details about BIEN's Executive Committee and International Board as well as further
information about the Recognised National Networks can be found on our website
www.basicincome.org
MEMBERSHIP
All life members of the Basic Income European Network, many of whom were non-
Europeans, have automatically become life members of the Basic Income Earth Network.
To join them, just send your name and address (postal and electronic) to David Casassas
david.casassas@uab.cat, Secretary of BIEN, and transfer EUR 100 to BIEN's account 001
2204356 10 at FORTIS BANK (IBAN: BE41 0012 2043 5610), 10 Rond-Point Schuman, B-
1040 Brussels, Belgium. An acknowledgement will be sent upon receipt.
BIEN Life-members can become "B(I)ENEFACTORS" by giving another 100 Euros or more
to the Network. The funds collected will facilitate the participation of promising BI advocates
coming from developing countries or from disadvantaged groups.
B(I)ENEFACTORS:
Joel Handler (US), Philippe Van Parijs (BE), Helmut Pelzer (DE), Guy Standing (UK),
Eduardo Suplicy (BR), Robert van der Veen (NL), Richard Caputo (US), Rolf Kuettel (CH),
Jeanne Hrdina (CH).
BIEN's Life Members:
James Meade (+), André Gorz (+), Maire Mullarney (+), Gunnar Adler-Karlsson (SE), Maria Ozanira da Silva
(BR), Ronald Dore (UK), Alexander de Roo (NL), Edouard Dommen (CH), Philippe Van Parijs (BE), P.J.
Verberne (NL), Tony Walter (UK), Philippe Grosjean (BE), Malcolm Torry (UK), Wouter van Ginneken (CH),
Andrew Williams (UK), Roland Duchâtelet (BE), Manfred Fuellsack (AT), Anne-Marie Prieels (BE), Philippe
Desguin (BE), Joel Handler (US), Sally Lerner (CA), David Macarov (IL), Paul Metz (NL), Claus Offe (DE),
Guy Standing (UK), Hillel Steiner (UK), Werner Govaerts (BE), Robley George (US), Yoland Bresson (FR),
BIEN NEWSFLASH 60 – February 2010 16
Richard Hauser (DE), Eduardo Matarazzo Suplicy (BR), Jan-Otto Andersson (FI), Ingrid Robeyns (UK), John
Baker (IE), Rolf Kuettel (CH), Michael Murray (US), Carlos Farinha Rodrigues (PT), Yann Moulier Boutang
(FR), Joachim Mitschke (DE), Rik van Berkel (NL), François Blais (CA), Katrin Töns (DE), Almaz Zelleke
(US), Gerard Degrez (BE), Michael Opielka (DE), Lena Lavinas (BR), Julien Dubouchet (CH), Jeanne Hrdina
(CH), Joseph Huber (DE), Markku Ikkala (FI), Luis Moreno (ES), Rafael Pinilla (ES), Graham Taylor (UK), W.
Robert Needham (CA), Tom Borsen Hansen (DK), Ian Murray (US), Peter Molgaard Nielsen (DK), Fernanda
Rodrigues (PT), Helmut Pelzer (DE), Rod Dobell (CA), Walter Van Trier (BE), Loek Groot (NL), Andrea
Fumagalli (IT), Bernard Berteloot (FR), Jean-Pierre Mon (FR), Angelika Krebs (DE), Ahmet Insel (FR), Alberto
Barbeito (AR), Rubén Lo Vuolo (AR), Manos Matsaganis (GR), Jose Iglesias Fernandez (ES), Daniel Eichler
(DE), Cristovam Buarque (BR), Michael Lewis (US), Clive Lord (UK), Jean Morier-Genoud (FR), Eri Noguchi
(US), Michael Samson (ZA), Ingrid van Niekerk (ZA), Karl Widerquist (US), Al Sheahen (US), Christopher
Balfour (UK), Jurgen De Wispelaere (UK), Wolf-Dieter Just (DE), Zsuzsa Ferge (HU), Paul Friesen (CA),
Nicolas Bourgeon (FR), Marja A. Pijl (NL), Matthias Spielkamp (DE), Frédéric Jourdin (FR), Daniel Raventós
(ES), Andrés Hernández (CO), Guido Erreygers (BE), Stephen C. Clark (US), Wolfgang Mundstein (AT), Evert
Voogd (NL), Frank Thompson (US), Lieselotte Wohlgenannt (AT), Jose Luis Rey Pérez (ES), Jose Antonio
Noguera (ES), Esther Brunner (CH), Irv Garfinkel (US), Claude Macquet (BE), Bernard Guibert (FR), Margit
Appel (AT), Simo Aho (FI), Francisco Ramos Martin (ES), Brigid Reynolds (IE), Sean Healy (IE), Patrick
Lovesse (CH), Jean-Paul Zoyem (FR), GianCarlo Moiso (IT), Martino Rossi (CH), Pierre Herold (CH), Steven
Shafarman (US), Leonardo Fernando Cruz Basso (BR), Wolfgang Strenmann-Kuhn (DE), Anne Glenda Miller
(UK), Lowell Manning (NZ), Dimitris Ballas (GR), Gilberte Ferrière (BE), Louise Haagh (DK), Michael
Howard (US), Simon Wigley (TR), Erik Christensen (DK), David Casassas (ES), Paul Nollen (BE),
Vriend(inn)en Basisinkomen (NL), Christophe Guené (BE), Alain Massot (CA), Marcel Bertrand Paradis (CA),
NN (Geneve, CH), Marc Vandenberghe (BE), Gianluca Busilacchi (IT), Robert F. Clark (US), Theresa
Funiciello (US), Al Boag & Sue Williams (AU), Josef Meyer (BE), Alain Boyer (CH), Jos Janssen (NL),
Collectif Charles Fourier (+), Bruce Ackerman (US), Victor Lau (CA), Konstantinos Geormas (GR), Pierre
Feray (FR), Christian Brütsch (CH), Phil Harvey (US), Toru Yamamori (JP), René Keersemaker (NL), Manuel
Franzmann (DE), Ovidio Carlos de Brito (BR), Bernard De Crum (NL), Katja Kipping (DE), Jan Beaufort (DE),
Christopher Mueller (DE), Bradley Nelson (US), Marc de Basquiat (FR), James Robertson (UK), Infoxoa
Rivista (IT), Eric Patry (CH), Vianney Angles (FR), Isabel Ortiz (US), Bert Penninckx (BE), Martine Waltho
(UK), Christoph Meier (DO), Robert van der Veen (NL), Pablo Yanes (MX), Ángel Pascual-Ramsay (ES),
Rafael Morís Pablos (ES), John Tomlinson (AU), Joerg Drescher (UA), Matthias Dilthey (DE), James Mulvale
(CA), Sugeng Bahagijo (ID), Hiroya Hirano (JP), Simon Birnbaum (SE), Carole Pateman (US), Sergio Luiz de
Moraes Pinto (BR), Javier López Fuentes (ES), Gösta Melander (SE) Blanca Zuluaga (CO), Fábio Waltenberg
(BR), Leon Segers (NL), Marco Bossi (BE), Choi Gwang Eun (KR), Wolf D. Aichberger (AT) [187].
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