아래의 글은 2009년 3월에 발간된 '기본소득지구네트워크 뉴스플래쉬'입니다.

참고로 '기본소득지구네트워크 뉴스플래쉬'는 격월로 발간되며, 각국의 기본소득 논의 현황을 요약 보도하는 자료입니다.

그러니까 다음호는 2009년 5월에 발간되겠죠?

번역이 되면 더 좋겠지만, 일단 영문자료라도 퍼서 올려놓으면 많은 분들에게 도움이 될 듯해서 올립니다.

향후에 기본소득 프로젝트팀 및 카페회원분들과 협의하여 번역하여 게재하는 방안을 검토해보도록 하겠습니다.

---------- 아래 -----------------

BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 1
BIEN - Basic Income Earth Network
NEWSFLASH 56 March 2009
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, Reimund Acker,
Simon Birnbaum, David Casassas, Sandro Gobetti, Dirk Jacobi, Andrés Lajous, James
Mulvale, Guy Standing, Eduardo Matarazzo Suplicy, Philippe Van Parijs, Karl Widerquist,
Toru Yamamori, and Thérèse Davio.
This NewsFlash can be downloaded as a PDF document on our website
www.basicincome.org
CONTENTS
1. Events
2. Glimpses of National Debates
3. Publications
4. New Links
5. About BIEN
_____
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 2
1. EVENTS
PAST EVENTS
* HIKONE (JP), 19 April 2008: 4th Annual Conference of the Japanese Association for
Feminist Economics (JAFFE).
The Association for Feminist Economics held its 4th annual conference at Shiga University,
and its general theme was “A Feminist Way Forward to Basic Income”. Toru Yamamori
organized and Shunko Ishiro, Shuji Ozawa, Kumiko Ida and Tetsuki Tamura spoke. The
proceedings will soon be published.
JAFFE’s website: http://devgen.igs.ocha.ac.jp/jaffe/
* NEW YORK (US), 27 February – 1 March 2009: The Eighth Congress of the U.S. Basic
Income Guarantee Network
The Eighth Congress of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee (USBIG) Network was held in
conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Economic Association (EEA). The
USBIG Congress is part of this Annual Meeting. On February 27, 2009, the new President of
the EEA, Paul Krugman (the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics) gave a talk during the official
luncheon of the Eastern Economic Association. During question time, Brazilian Senator
Eduardo Suplicy, honorary co-Chair of BIEN, asked Krugman whether a basic income was an
option to be considered in the US, following the example of the Alaska Permanent Fund
Dividend. Krugman did not dismiss the idea, arguing that he had never been a great advocate
of targeted programmes. But he stated that in the current US context a universal health care
programme deserved priority over a basic income grant in cash.
At the end of the USBIG Congress, a letter to US President Barack Obama was drafted and
signed by most participants. It includes an unambiguous plea in favour of a basic income:
"We urge you to consider establishing a basic income for all Americans as the most effective
way to stop the contraction of the economy and begin a new era of economic prosperity for
all". The letter is available at http://www.incomesecurityforall.org/. A Brazilian version was
published in the Jornal do Brasil, with an introduction by Senator Eduardo Matarazzo
Suplicy. In this introduction, Suplicy also summarizes his exchange with Paul Krugman
(Jornal do Brasil, March 2, 2009, http://jbonline.terra.com.br).
The programme and papers can be found at: http://www.usbig.net/index.html
* BRUSSELS (BE), 5 March 2009: European Young Socialists Meeting
On March 5, 2009, Guy Standing, honorary co-president of BIEN, was invited to give an
address on how basic income could help in the recovery from the financial crisis to a
conference organized by the European Young Socialists in the European Parliament in
Brussels. He urged the delegates to think beyond the conventional perspectives and argued
that unconditional stabilization grants would be a step towards a more equal and free society,
which they as emerging politicians should espouse.
* RIO DE JANEIRO (BR), 16 March 2009: Lecture by Eduardo Suplicy.
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 3
On March 16, 2009, Senator Eduardo Suplicy gave the Inaugural Lecture on “The Transition
of the Bolsa Escola Program towards the Citizen’s Basic Income” to the Students of the
Economics Institute of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
* BATH (UK), 20 March 2009: Economics Summit
On March 20, Guy Standing, honorary co-president of BIEN, presented his ideas for
stabilization grants at a day-long “Economics Summit” being organized by the Economics
Department of the University of Bath. Among other speakers were Sir Samuel Brittan, Tim
Harford and Patrick Minford.
* ROME (IT), 20 March 2009: Seminar on guaranteed income
This seminar about the idea of a guaranteed income within the framework of a "new welfare
system" was sponsored by BIN Italia (the Italian Section of BIEN). Several lawyers took part
in the seminar, and the discussion was mainly focused on labour law issues.
For further information: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=39
Pictures: http://www.bin-italia.org/articledb/image-gallery/index.php?page=listimage&
album=15
* ROME (IT), 25 March 2009: New welfare and Guaranteed Income
Members of Basic Income Network Italia (BIN Italia), along with several scholars, took part
in a meeting on basic income which was convened at the initative of the students' movement
at the Università La Sapienza. The meeting was focused on labour market issues, the
knowledge economy, and a guaranteed income.
For further information: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=40
UPCOMING EVENTS
* AHMEDABAD (IN), 13 April 2009: Basic income and cash transfers
In India, a day-long meeting to discuss basic income and cash transfers will be held in
Ahmedabad on April 13. Guy Standing will make a presentation on how conditional cash
transfers will lead to a basic income, and contributors to the Indian debate on cash transfers
will be invited to respond. The meeting is being organized by SEWA (the Self-Employed
Women’s Association of India) and the Gujarat Institute for Social Research.
* FIRENZE (IT), 24 April 2009: Rethinking welfare and the challenge of basic income
The conference will start at 3 PM at the Polo delle scienze sociali in Florence. The meeting is
sponsored by Università di Firenze dipartimento scienze economiche, Movimento Federalista
Europeo Toscana, Associazione Universitaria cooperazione allo sviluppo. Featured speakers
will include Dr. Giuseppe Bronzin, Andrea Fumagalli, Guy Standing, and Renato Libanora.
Further information: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=42
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 4
* HERZOGENRATH (DE), 16-17 May 2009: Symposium on basic income
Following the October 2008 Basic Income Conference (Berlin), German basic income
supporters have organized a two-day symposium which will take place on May 16-17, 2009.
It is intended to be more focused and scientifically oriented than the Berlin conference and
will be open for invited participants only. Both the Berlin conference and the symposium are
part of the "Basic Income on its Way to Europe" project, which is funded by the European
Union.
Further information: acker@grundeinkommen.de
* CALGARY (CA), 19-22 May 2009: Guaranteed Income: A Path to Economic Security?
BIEN Canada has been invited to do a workshop at the Canadian Social Forum (CSF) which
will take place in Calgary, Alberta on 19 - 22 May 2009. The title of the session will be
Guaranteed Income: A Path to Economic Security? It will outline current thinking around
basic income models, and invite participants to explore issues of design, public support, and
strategies for working towards income guarantees in the Canadian context.
BIEN Canada will also be meeting during the afternoon of Tuesday, 19 May in Calgary, just
before the Social Forum begins. This will be the first face-to-face meeting of the network's
members since the inaugural meeting in June 2008 at the BIEN Congress in Dublin.
More information on the CSF program and on how to register is available at:
http://www.ccsd.ca/csf/2009
For further information: Dr. Jim Mulvale, University of Regina:
jim.mulvale@uregina.ca phone 306.585.4237,
* EDINBURGH (UK), June 29 – July 1, 2009: Cititizen Income Trust Sessions at Social
Policy Association Conference
The Citizen’s Income Trust —BIEN’s affiliate in the United Kingdom— organizes three
sessions on basic income at the Social Policy Association’s 43rd annual Conference at the
University of Edinburgh June 29 – July 1, 2009. Nine papers arranged into three symposia
have been accepted for presentation as parallel sessions at the SPA. Speakers include Jurgen
De Wispelaere, Lindsay Stirton, Anne G Miller, Karl Widerquist, Joel F Handler, Bill Jordan,
Guy Standing, Louise Haagh, Ailsa McKay, and Stuart White.
For more information contact: Annie Miller at the CIT office, info@citizensincome.org
For more information: www.citizensincome.org.
* OTTAWA (CA), October 1-2, 2009: Basic Income Colloquium
BIEN Canada holds a Basic Income Colloquium in Ottawa on 1-2 October 2009. Featured
speakers include Senator Hugh Segal (a proponent of guaranteed income in the Canadian
Federal Parliament) and Jurgen De Wispelaere of Trinity College Dublin, who also is coeditor
of Basic Income Studies.
For further information: Dr. Jim Mulvale, University of Regina:
jim.mulvale@uregina.ca phone 306.585.4237
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 5
2. GLIMPSES OF NATIONAL DEBATES
* BRAZIL: PILOT PROJECT TO BE LAUNCHED?
Encouraged by Senator Eduardo Suplicy, a local basic income pilot project is about to be
launched in Brazil. Suplicy detailed the prospects for that experiment in a newspaper article
published in Portuguese by the Folha de S. Paulo, one Brazil's main newspapers, in its March
27, 2009 issue. Here are a few excerpts:
"Last March 20, the climate resort Santo Antônio do Pinhal experienced an unforgettable
night. Mayor José Augusto Guarnieri Pereira (PT) invited the councillors and representatives
of all local economic sectors for a dialogue, at the Common Council, about the proposal of
constituting a Citizen Fund that allows paying a Citizen´s Basic Income to all of the
approximately 7,000 inhabitants, turning the city into a pioneer example in Brazil. Santo
Antônio do Pinhal is located about 180 km from São Paulo, 1,200 meters above the sea level,
on the Serra da Mantiqueira, near Campos do Jordão. (...) In 2007, a couple of farmers,
Marina and Francisco Nóbrega, took the mayor to my speech about the Citizen´s Basic
Income at the University of the Paraíba Valley, in São José dos Campos. At the end, I asked
the students to suggest to the Mayor that the city implement a pioneer example of basic
income. Everybody agreed. (...) A technical team, with the support of the Corporação Andina
de Fomento (CAF), will help with the project elaboration. The São Paulo State Secretary of
Assistance and Social Development, and the federal bank Caixa Econômica Federal were also
present and willing to collaborate. (...) So, in the same way as the first proposals of the
minimum income linked to education had started locally, leading to its spread out to all the
cities, today it is possible to start a basic income through a city such as Santo Antônio do
Pinhal. It needs only the determination of the Mayor, the Councillors and the community,
mainly because the Citizen´s Basic Income, according to the Federal Law 10.835/2004, is
to be instituted gradually, under the criterion of the Executive Power."
Newspaper's website: http://www.folha.uol.com.br/
* ITALY: MINIMUM INCOME LAW VOTED IN LAZIO REGION
An important step has been made towards the implementation of a minimum income scheme
in Italy, one of the few EU-countries without a true minimum income for the poor. On March
4, 2009, the council of the Lazio Region (Rome) voted for a law implementing a minimum
income scheme ("reddito minimo") within the region. It states that individuals below a gross
income of EUR8.000 per year are entitled to a EUR560 minimum income. This means-tested
scheme, however, remains experimental. The Region has decided to spend no more than
EUR40 millions in the next 3 years. The scheme includes a work requirement, but
beneficiaries are allowed to decline a job offer when it does not fit their qualifications. The
law was voted in under pressure of several trade unions, activists, and students.
In the meanwhile, the debate on the unconditional basic income remains intense in several
parts of Italy. On March 9, 2009, a meeting was organized in Naples by several associations
(students, NGO's, ...), in order to discuss the means to fight the camorra (mafia). The focus
was on "new welfare to fight against the mafia". Members of BIN Italy talked about the
necessity of a basic income as a means to empower individuals, and help them oppose
blackmailing by the mafia. On March 28, 2009, more than 20.000 people marched in the
streets of Rome against the "G14" (an extended G8) meeting. The demonstration included
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 6
workers, students, and activists advocating new rights, including the "guaranteed income for
all". During the demonstration, a group of activists attacked a bank office, and wrote various
slogans on the wall, such as: "reclaim the money for all", or "we want a guaranteed income".
For further details on the Lazio law: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=31
On the Naples meeting: http://www.bin-italia.org/informa.php?ID_NEWS=28
On the Rome demonstration: http://roma.indymedia.org/node/9026
* JAPAN: BASIC INCOME TO GAIN POLITICAL SUPPORT IN 2009?
Thanks to the initiatives of the provisional Basic Income Japanese Network (BIJN, founded
2007), which had several academic meetings in Tokyo (January 2009) and Kyoto (July 2008
and March 2009), interest in basic income has been growing in Japan last year. Two new
books entirely devoted to the idea were published in 2008 (see "Publications" section below).
A few events are also worth mentioning.
On January 4, 2008, the newspaper Tokyo Shimbun News (http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/) had an
article in favour of basic income. Toru Yamamori explained the idea and feasibility of basic
income and Masaru Kaneko commented that the current Japanse welfare system should be
replaced by something else, though he isn’t sure that basic income is the best alternative.
On January 15, 2008, NHK Radio (Japan Broadcasting Corporation,
http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/) aired a short program that introduced the idea of Basic
Income. Toru Yamamori spoke that the deaths caused by poverty in Japan should be taken
seriously and basic income can be one of remedies. On June 1st and 13, 2008, the newspaper
Kyoto Shimbun News (http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/) had two articles in favour of basic income.
Shuji Ozawa and Toru Yamamori contributed. Ozawa explained the current problems of
social security and financial feasibility of BI, and Yamamori explained BI activism from
Martin Luther King to anti-G8 movements. On December 26, 2008, Takafumi Horie (a
famous IT entrepreneur) briefly referred BI on a popular TV program of TBS (Tokyo
Broadcasting System).
Several events related to basic income also took place in early 2009. For instance, on 22
February 2009 one of the main figures of the Japanese basic income movement, Toru
Yamamori, was invited to speak about Basic Income at the annual gathering of the disabled
people’s movement in Kyoto. The event was officially supported by the Kyoto city
government and the Kyoto prefecture government. On March 1, 2009, Yamamori also gave a
lecture on basic income at the meeting of the Feminist Labour Centre, in Osaka.
Finally, in February 2009 the New Party Nippon (http://www.lovenippon.
com/12jyunbi_chu.htm) adopted Basic Income in its Manifest. The leader of this
party, Yasuo Tanaka, argued for Basic Income via several media. He is a famous writer, exgovernor
of Nagano prefecture, and is currently the only MP of this party. Furthermore, on
April 3, 2009, more than 40 MPs of the Democratic Party of Japan (currently the largest
opposition party) attended a study meeting on Basic Income. Toru Yamamori gave a
presentation, and Shogo Takekawa and Taro Miyamato are scheduled to speak at the next
sessions to be organized in the near future (Party’s website: http://www.dpj.or.jp/english/)
For further information: http://www1.doshisha.ac.jp/~tyamamor/bijnenglish.html
* NAMIBIA: JESUS CHRIST AND THE BASIC INCOME GRANT
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 7
In recent months, the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU) had been at the
centre of the debate on basic income in Namibia (see previous Newsflashes). A report of
NEPRU was very critical of the pilot project launched by the Basic Income Grant (BIG
coalition). The BIG coalition replied and criticized the evidence provided by NEPRU. As a
result, NEPRU had to withdraw its statements on poverty and crime as not substantiated and
not properly researched. Following that, one of the main critics of the project, Economist
Rigmar Osterkamp, is no longer employed with NEPRU. Furthermore, there has been a strong
critique of NEPRU's statements by Dr. Henning Melber, who was NEPRU Director from
1992 to 2000 and is now Executive Director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation in
Uppsala/Sweden. His article, entitled 'Power, Privileges and Poverty: BIG, Moral Economy
and Solidarity', was published in The Namibian on Jan. 08, 2009.
In the meanwhile, basic income continues to make headlines in Namibia. Bishop Dr.
Zephania Kameeta and Claudia Haarmann, together with the Dr Peter Katjavivi (Director
General of the Namibian National Planning Commission), were invited to do a presentation
on the basic income pilot project at an international symposium in Wuppertal (DE) on March
6th, 2009. Reports on the symposium were published in Namibia's two main newspapers.
According to The Namibian (March 13, 2009), Katjavivi said that basic income programmes
"forge a type of partnership that is novel and strong and could play an important role because
their approach and focus are systematic and constructive". He added that BIG programmes
have the potential to “mobilise local resources, technical know-how, and markets for
economic growth and development”, adding that a BIG approach is pro-poor, pro-agriculture
and pro-rural.
At the same symposium, Bishop Dr. Zephania Kameeta of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
compared the basic income grant to the Biblical story of Jesus feeding 5000 people: "Jesus
did not make his feeding of the 5000 subject to the condition that the people fulfil any
qualifications," said Kameeta, who is also a vice-president of the Lutheran World Federation.
"His help and his love were and are unconditional. Such a Basic Income Grant frees people to
take the initiative and accept responsibility."
Finally, according to The Namibian (March 18, 2009), Anna Beukes, Executive Director at
Namibia NGO Forum (Nangof), argued that Government could neither expect to meet its
developmental goals nor have the full participation of the public in meeting these objectives
without first addressing the basic needs of its people. These, she said, could be addressed
through the implementation of the BIG.
For Bishop Kameeta's statement, see: http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=2807
The Namibian website: http://www.namibian.com.na/
* UNITED KINGDOM: POLITICAL PARTY ADVOCATES BASIC INCOME
USBIG reports that a group of British teenagers have started a new political party called
Social Liberalist Party (SLP). The party’s website describes the party as follows: “The Social
Liberalist Party is a liberal party. It's about freedom and social progress. We were set up
because we want the fundamental reforms needed to make Britain a better country to live in.”
The party endorses land value taxation, open immigration, and a basic income. According to
party leader Anton Howes, “The SLP sees the need to get rid of the dependence culture which
has created a permanent underclass with no incentive to contribute back to society. As far as
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 8
we can tell, a form of basic income appears to be the only way this could ever be fully
achieved. … If ever there was a cause worth supporting, the destruction of the benefit and
poverty trap through the use of a basic income is one.”
The SLP is online at: http://www.VoteLiberalist.org
* UNITED STATES: ACTIVISTS ENDORSE BASIC INCOME
According to USBIG, two activist groups have recently endorsed basic income in the United
States. After Downing Street is a nonpartisan U.S. coalition of over 200 veterans groups,
peace groups, and political activist groups that was originally founded in response to Bush
administration policy in Iraq. After Downing Street has now endorsed the Basic Income
Guarantee as part of its call for monetary reform. According to the website, “Income security,
including a basic income guarantee and a national dividend, should be a primary
responsibility of national governments in the economic sphere. A right to adequate purchasing
power should be part of every national constitution.” Their monetary program and a petition
to support it are on line at: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/crisis
The American Monetary Institute campaigns for monetary reform in the United States. They
have recently call for the “payment of a Citizens Dividend as a tax-free grant to all U.S.
citizens residing in the U.S. in order to provide liquidity to the banking system,” and for “a
thorough study of the effects of this Dividend observing its effects on production, prices,
morale and other economic and fiscal factors.” Stephen Zarlenga is the director of the
institute. It is online at: http://www.monetary.org
* UNITED STATES: ALASKA PERMANENT FUND SUFFERS FROM FINANCIAL
CRISIS
According to USBIG (Winter 2009 Newsletter), the global bear market has hit the Alaska
Permanent Fund (APF) hard. After the state calculated the biggest dividend in the APF’s
history last summer, the fund lost 25% of its value in a matter of months, falling from a high
of US$40 billion to the current low of US$28 billion. The fund is invested in a diversified
portfolio of domestic and foreign stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets, most of which
have taken great losses during the financial crisis. The decline has already made the trustees
consider keeping a larger portion funds in safer investments such as bonds.
The fund lost US$8 billion during Governor Sarah Palin’s failed 9-week campaign for the
Vice-Presidency. Her campaign can in no way have caused the drop in the fund, but Gregg
Erickson, of the Anchorage Daily News, suggested that her preoccupation might have slowed
the state’s reaction to the decline. The drop in the fund will have an effect on the Permanent
Fund Dividend for years to come. Normally the dividend is calculated based on an average for
the last five years of returns, but the Alaska Constitution forbids the state to spend down the
principal of the fund. With no returns to draw on this year, the state apparently cannot make
any payments without drawing down the principal. However, there is some question how the
principal of the fund is defined. The state might need to redefine the APF’s principal to make
any payment this year, and according to Mike Burns, the Permanent Fund Corporation’s top
executive, the constitutionality of a change in the definition of “principal” could easily
become the subject of a lawsuit.
The financial position of the APF is further complicated by the recent spike and then
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 9
enormous decline in oil prices. Most of the state’s revenue (and all of the new additions to the
principal of the APF) come from oil taxes. Oil, which reached a high of about US$140 per
barrel last summer, has recently traded below US$40 a barrel. This greatly decreases both the
prospects for future growth of the fund and the state’s ability to supplement the dividend, as it
did last year with a US$1200 resource rebate.
However, one action taken over the last few months will lead to greater deposits into the fund
in the future. The APF again started receiving 50% of state oil revenue after a law reducing
payments to 25% of oil revenue expired on October 1, 2008. The Alaskan Constitution
mandates that at least 25% of oil revenues must go into the APF. Between 1979 and 2003, the
state deposited 50% of oil revenues into the fund. A law passed in 2003, dropped the deposit
rate to 25%. Since, that law expired on October 1, the state has again been depositing 50% of
oil revenues into the fund. If the current rules remain in effect, they will lead to larger
dividends in the future than would occur if deposits remained at 25%. But these larger
percentage contributions cannot make up for market losses or the decline in oil prices.
Despite the hard times, the APF remains extremely popular. Many Alaskan’s biggest fear is
that the government will use the current economic situation as an excuse to divert money from
the fund. Commentators have argued that they would rather have a $28 billion cushion in the
bank than nothing at all. Even in the downturn the idea is being considered for export. A
recent editorial by Lee Harding, of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, made the case for a similar
Permanent Fund in the province of Saskatchewan (CA).
Finally, in its Winter 2009 edition, the USBIG Newsletter published a short essay on the
Aslaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) by Scott Goldsmith, Professor of Economics at the
University of Alaska Anchorage (US). According to Goldsmith, the PFD "clearly tends to
equalize the income distribution by raising it at the lower end". He also notes that "There is no
evidence that the labour force participation rate has fallen because of the Dividend". In his
essay, Goldsmith also echoes some of the critics of the dividend, who "argue that it is spent
primarily on current consumption and that a larger share of it should be invested within the
state". But he concludes that the PFD and, more generally, the Alaska Permanent Fund policy
"has probably had a small stabilizing effect on the Alaska economy, and it is at least part of
the reason for the relatively high level of economic equality in Alaska". "Its most certain
effect", Goldsmith argues, is "a big improvement in the incomes of the poorest Alaskans".
Read Goldsmith's essay at: http://www.usbig.net/newsletters/51Winter2009.htm
Several articles on the Fund’s losses are online:
PrivateEquityRealEstate:
http://www.privateequityrealestate.net/Article.aspx?article=33818&hashID=FDFF2D7D3389
7C18F706AB83E96443B60D991046
Rhonda McBride for KTUU:
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=9725936
Rebecca Palsha for KTUU:
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=9456145
Lee Harding’s editorial in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Establish+legacy+fund+with+royalties/1065764/story.htm
Pat Forgey for the Juneau Empire:
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/120508/loc_364003672.shtml
Gregg Erickson for the Anchorage Daily News:
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 10
http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/606388.html
Elizabeth Bluemink’s interview Mike Burns, the Permanent Fund Corporation’s top
executive:
http://www.adn.com/front/story/608365.html
The states explanation for the increase in deposits to the fund:
http://www.revenue.state.ak.us/Press%20Releases/08-012%2010-20-2008%20PFD%20-
%20HB11%20Repeal.pdf
3. PUBLICATIONS
*ENGLISH
COHEN, Marjorie Griffin & PULKINGHAM, Jane (2009), Public Policy for Women: The
State, Income Security, and Labour Market Issues, Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
This book, co-edited by Marjorie Griffin Cohen and Jane Pulkingham from Simon Fraser
University, includes a chapter by Margot Young (Faculty of Law, Univ. of British Colombia)
on “Guaranteed Annual Income: A Feminist Approach”, and a chapter by Lee Lakeman
(Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter) on “Abolishing Prostitution through
Economic, Physical, and Political Security for Women.”
For further information: http://www.utppublishing.com/
LEVY, Santiago (2008), Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes, Washington DC: Brookings
Institution, 2008, ISBN 978-0-8157-5219-6, 357pp.
In this new book Santiago Levy, one of the designers of the programme "Oportunidades" in
Mexico and current Vice-President of the Inter-American Development Bank, studies the
relationship between social policy, informality and economic performance in Mexico. The
main argument of the book is that the dichotomy between formal and informal labour, and the
inefficiencies attached to it, is deepened by a fragmented social policy that gives traditional
social security benefits to formal workers, and non-contributory benefits to informal workers.
His solution is simple, universalize social security benefits by removing the current
contributory scheme and impose a generalized VAT of 15% legally linked to the financing a
the universal social security system. This new system would include the following individual
benefits: health insurance, life insurance, retirement pension, disability insurance, and an
unconditional “direct income transfer” to offset the regressive effect of the VAT in the lowest
income households. The proposal is not written as a basic income proposal; however, the
“direct income transfer” as proposed would in fact work as very small basic income.
* FRENCH
MARSEILLE, Jacques (2009), L'argent des Français, Paris: Perrin, 394pp.
In this book, Jacques Marseille - an expert in social and economic history, and Professor at
Paris-Sorbonne - deals with the history of income taxation in the French context. He also
gives some insights into possible reforms of the French tax system. Marseille advocates the
introduction of a EUR750 basic income for every French citizen (EUR375 for children under
the age of 18), funded by a 20% flat tax and a "social" value-added tax of 25%. In his
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 11
scenario, the basic income scheme, or "universal grant", would replace most existing benefits,
including the old-age benefits. Marseille debated his proposal with left-wing economist
Thomas Piketty in the weekly Le Point (January 29, 2009).
Author's website, with some chapters available online: http://www.jacquesmarseille.fr/.
Chapter 32 includes a description of the basic income scheme.
* JAPANESE
TAKEGAWA, Shogo (ed.) (2008), Citizenship and Potentiality of Basic Income, Horitsu-
Bunkasha, Kyoto, ISBN: 978-4589031129, 256 pages.
This book is the third volume in a three volume series titled “Agenda and Challenges of New
Social Policy”, whose expected readers are mainly academic. The first part of the book
consists of theoretical chapters, whose contributors are Shogo Takegawa, Reiko Goto, Miyo
Akimoto, and Tetsuki Tamura. The second part consists of chapters that examine the
relevance of basic income within the Japanese social security system, with contributions from
Hideaki Kikuchi, Masato Shizume, Akemi Kita, Shuji Ozawa and Taro Miyamoto. This is the
second publication that exclusively focuses on basic income written originally in Japanese,
following the first book by Shuji Ozawa published 2002. Shogo Takegawa is a professor of
sociology at the University of Tokyo.
Publisher's website: http://www.hou-bun.co.jp/
YAMAMORI, Toru (2008), Introduction to Basic Income, Tokyo: Kobunsha, ISBN: 978-
4334034924, 296 pages
This book is published in a popular form called “shinsho”, similar to series such as “Penguin
books” in Britain, aimed at diffusing the idea of basic income to a wide range of people,
mainly general readers from politicians to welfare claimants, but also intellectuals and
academics who are skeptical of the idea. Chapter 1 explains how the Japanese welfare state
that formally adopted the principles found in the Beveridge report has failed to remedy not
only relative poverty but also absolute poverty. Chapters 2 and 3 delves into the history of
Single mothers’ welfare feminism, its demands for basic income, and into the relevance of the
idea to Japanese disability movements. The intermezzo of the book sheds light on
philosophical speculation from Bertrand Russell to Philippe Van Parijs. Chapter 4 depicts the
history of the idea and chapter 5 examines various arguments by economists. Chapter 6
overviews current arguments and actions from BIEN to precarious workers’ activism, and
shows possible steps toward basic income in Japan. This is the third publication that
exclusively focuses on basic income written originally in Japanese, and the first publication
for general readers. Toru Yamamori is an associate professor of social policy at Doshisha
University.
Publisher’s website:
http://www.kobunsha.com/shelf/book/isbn/9784334034924
Author's address: toruyamamori@googlemail.com
4. NEW LINKS
* BASIC INCOME AND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 12
Under the title "The Financial Crisis and the Real Economy: Beyond the Keynesian Fix",
Matt Vidal (Lecturer in Work and Organizations at King's College London), argues that the
Keynesian stimuli currently under discussion as a way to fix the financial crisis may stave off
another great depression, but cannot even begin to fix the fundamental problems in the real
economy. "What is necessary", Vidal argues, "is massive redistribution of the economic
surplus to the working poor – whose ranks are growing fast in this crisis – so that they can
contribute to economic growth without going into personal debt. A sustained program of
public investment and public employment helps, but the level of economic imbalance in the
society will require much more, including dramatically expanded welfare through such
programs as basic income grants, financed by the taxation of the rich rather than ever more
public debt".
Article at: http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/vidal170209.html
Author's adress: matt.vidal@kcl.ac.uk>.
* CITIZEN'S INCOME NEWSLETTER
The Citizen’s Income Newsletter, issue 2 for 2009, is now available. It includes an article by
Lindsay Stirton (University of Manchester), and Jurgen De Wispelaere (Trinity College
Dublin) in which they critically examine the claim that the introduction of a basic income
would generate significant administrative savings.
http://www.citizensincome.org/resources/newsletter%20issue%202%202009.shtml
* FRENCH REFERENDUM ON BASIC INCOME
Activists defend the idea of organizing a referendum on the "citizen's income".
See: http://revenu-citoyen.wifeo.com/
* A UNIVERSAL DIVIDEND IN FRANCE
A short article in which French economist Yoland Bresson argues in favour of a 'Universal
Dividend': http://www.thematiquefrs.org/experts/expertdu1.pdf
* ONLINE OPINION BY JOHN TOMLINSON
A new article by John Tomlinson in ON LINE opinion, Australia's e-journal of social and
political debate. Tomlinson discusses basic income and job guarantees, and argues that
"putting in place a basic income is the first step in building the social solidarity necessary to
have everyone working together".
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8583
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, University of Reading, United Kingdom
Further details about BIEN's Executive Committee and International Board can be found on
our website www.basicincome.org, as well as further information about the Recognised
National Networks.
MEMBERSHIP
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 13
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 (+), 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), 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), Maire Mullarney (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) [181].
BIEN NEWSFLASH 56 – March 2009 14
BIEN's NewsFlash is mailed electronically every two months to over 1,500 subscribers throughout the world.
Requests for free subscription are to be sent to bien@basicincome.org
Items for inclusion or review in future NewsFlashes are to be sent to Yannick Vanderborght, Newsletter Editor,
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yannick.vanderborght@uclouvain.be
The items included in BIEN NewsFlashes are not protected by any copyright. They can be reproduced and
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