Ben Simmons This is the final instalment in our feasibility study series. So far we have looked at what a feasibility study is, whether political support is possible, and how we can create public support. The final piece of the puzzle is gaining support from the institutions that would allow the implementation of a pilot. Dr Benjamin … Read more
Previously we looked at what a feasibility study is, and what it is trying to achieve, as well as examining the likelihood of a pilot gaining political support. In this instalment we consider how we can create popular demand for a pilot. Dr Benjamin Simmons, Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland Trustee @vforfive There is little … Read more
In this second instalment of our feasibility study series we examine a key question the study needs to answer: will there be political support for a pilot? Dr Benjamin Simmons, Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland Trustee @vforfive Last week we gave an overview of the feasibility studies and what they are trying to achieve. One of … Read more
The proposed basic income pilots in Scotland are receiving a lot of attention in the media but it isn’t always clear what exactly is going on, and what progress is being made towards a pilot being launched. Right now the team behind the pilots are conducting a ‘feasibility study’ which will determine if a pilot … Read more
The Scottish Conservatives’ Social Security Spokeswoman, Michelle Ballantyne has recently called the basic income pilots across Scotland an “SNP vanity project” and suggests that “the scheme should be dropped now”. At a time when universal credit is shown to be failing, the Conservatives should not be misrepresenting evidence to attack research into an alternative. Dr … Read more
If a basic income pilot is implemented in Scotland the public will need to be kept up to date on the details, the motivation, and the results of the study. Here are some things to consider when you’re deciding whether you support a basic income pilot in principle, and whether you think it has been … Read more
An excellent recent article in Wired, The Paradox of Universal Basic Income, made several interesting points about, among other things, the impact of political motivation on basic income schemes (principally the decision by a conservative government in Finland to only give basic income to the unemployed). It’s a good read. But why is a magazine … Read more
One of the most common objections to a basic income is that it would increase inflation. Many people remember from history lessons at school the photos of children playing with huge piles of bank notes in East Germany, but it is essential that we confront the idea that introducing an equitable and fair welfare state would lead to … Read more