U.S. BASIC INCOME GUARANTEE NETWORK NEWSLETTER, JANUARY 2001. This is the Newsletter of USBIG, an organization promoting the basic income guarantee in the United States. If you'd like to be added or removed from this list please email: Karl@Widerquist.com. CONTENTS: 1. SEMINAR, JANUARY 26TH 2. BASIC INCOME GUARANTEE ON (AND OFF) THE FRONT PAGES IN CANADA 3. A NEW BASIC INCOME NETWORK IN CANADA 4. POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT 5. RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND NEW WEBSITES RELATED TO BIG 6. MONTREAL COLLOQUIUM REMINDER 7. LINKS AND OTHER INFO 1. SEMINAR, JANUARY 26TH STANLEY ARONOWITZ, of the City University of New York, will discuss the politics of the basic income guarantee at the next U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Seminar. WHEN: Friday, January 26th, 5 to 7pm WHERE: The Sociology Department at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 5th Avenue between 34th St. and 35th St., New York, NY. The February speaker will be Charley Clark and the March speaker will be Michael Lewis. 2. BASIC INCOME GUARANTEE ON (AND OFF) THE FRONT PAGES IN CANADA On Saturday, December 9th, just after the ruling Liberal Party won a decisive victory in the Canadian Parliamentary election, the basic income guarantee suddenly and surprisingly appeared on the front pages of Canadian Newspapers. Under a banner headline, the National Post (one of the most conservative national dailies in Canada) reported that Prime Minister "Jean Chretien assembled a top-level committee in hopes of creating a cradle-to-grave guaranteed annual income program that he hopes will be his political legacy. This news was very exciting to basic income supporters because the Liberal Party has the strength in Parliament to pass any such proposal even over the objections of all the other major parties. Several in the Post articles over three days claimed that high-level sources had confirmed that the government was looking into the idea, but one could easily miss the disclaimer in the first article saying, "The prime minister's office refused comment and refused to confirm the existence of the special committee." Although readers of the USBIG newsletter last April will remember that Anthony Westell, of the Globe and Mail called for the Liberals to take up Basic Income as an issue for the coming campaign, the Liberals ignored the call and the issue was not discussed before the election. It was surprising that the issue would then be brought up shortly after the afterword, but a guaranteed income would help the Liberals fulfill promises made during the campaign to use half of Canada's federal budget surplus to restore funding to social programs and to attack child poverty. Chretien was quoted as saying, "The fact is that our prosperity is not shared by all. … As a Liberal, I believe that the government has the responsibility to promote social justice." Such as speech would be shocking in the United States, because he used the phrase, "As a Liberal." Over the following four days, the National Post followed with more front-page articles including one with the headline, "Foes slam 'Socialistic Experiment.'" All of the other major parties managed to say something negative about either the idea or the timing of the action. The Conservative Party leader criticized both the timing and the idea although his party seriously looked into an income guarantee in the 1970s. A prominent member of the liberal NDP slammed the timing of the proposal saying, "It makes a farce of our democratic system." Then, surprisingly, he went on to say that the NDP supports it in principle and he bragged that the NDP had pushed the Liberals to endorse the idea back in the 1960s. Similarly, a member the Quebec separatist party criticized the timing and said that income support is a matter of provincial jurisdiction, but did say that the idea was worth further study. The harshest criticism came from Stockwell Day, the leader of Canada's Alliance Party, which is known for being more-conservative-than-the-Conservative Party. He accused the Liberals of misleading the Canadians during the election and said that Chretien should name a mountain after himself if he wants to leave a lasting legacy rather than spend billions to fund a cradle-to-grave welfare program. Such harsh criticism is surprising coming from the leader of the Alliance party because the Reform Party (as Mr. Day's party was known before it restructured two years ago) endorsed the guaranteed income in its election platform in 1993 as a way to streamline Canada's convoluted income-security programs. On December 13th, the basic income guarantee disappeared from Canadian front pages as quickly it had appeared, when the Globe and Mail reported in a small article on page 12 that Chretien denied any part in suggesting the idea. Chretien said, "I don't know where that idea comes from. I haven't said a word about it." While he was at it, he also denied any desire to do anything to ensure that he has a lasting political legacy. Apparently what we witnessed was a trial balloon that was quickly shot down. Still, there is apparently a high level committee looking into how to fulfill the Liberals promise to use half of the budget surplus to fight poverty. It is possible that the committee will consider the guaranteed income as a way of achieving that goal. Chretien is not expected to say how he will attack poverty until his Throne Speech next month. If the committee endorses the idea, conceivably it could still happen. Given that all five of the major parties have either endorsed or seriously considered some form of income guarantee at one time or another, there is some hope that a broad coalition in favor of the idea could develop: Although they will differ about the amount of income redistribution that should be done, the various Canadian politicians could conceivably agree that an income guarantee is the best way to redistribute income. But, such an agreement does not seem likely. Nor does it seem likely that Chretien will make such a proposal or make the needed effort to create such a coalition. If the basic income guarantee is to succeed in Canada--or anywhere else--it will need strong political leadership that will do more than float a trial balloon. Leaders will need to convince the public of the need for an income guarantee and build up a constituency in favor of it. As is, the trial balloon was only an exciting piece of good news to the tiny minority of people in Canada who already knew of and supported the idea. Most likely, the Liberals did not make the guaranteed income an issue in the campaign because they did not believe it was a political winner and they didn't believe enough in the idea to risk their nearly certain electoral victory to promote it. However, if the leadership in Canada's Liberal Party decides to make such a bold move, the enactment of a basic income guarantee could be closer than most supporters would have thought possible. 3. A NEW BASIC INCOME NETWORK IN CANADA The Basic Income/Canada (BI/Canada) network was established July 1, 2000 after a series of meetings that brought together Canadians from a variety of fields, including labor, social justice, journalism and academia. A BI/Canada website is being developed and discussion can currently take place on the Basic Income list. To subscribe, send a message to: saying As an informal network, BI/Canada welcomes everyone interested in discussing or furthering BI initiatives. To be included on the BI/Canada email list to receive periodic newsletters, send your email address to with on the subject line. 4. POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT This fellowship is on social ethics and need not have anything to do with the basic income guarantee, but the director of the Hoover Chair of Economics and Social Ethics is one of the best known authors on the subject. HOOVER FELLOWSHIP IN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ETHICS Universite catholique de Louvain (Belgium) Thanks to the continued support of the Hoover Foundation for the Development of the Catholic University of Louvain, the Hoover Chair of Economic and Social Ethics offers every year a postdoctoral fellowship. The fellowship is intended for scholars from outside Belgium, who hold a PhD or possess equivalent qualifications and are active in the field of economic ethics or (more broadly) social ethics. At least some rudiments of French and an active knowledge of either English or French are required. The fellowship provides a gross monthly stipend of Euros 1800, plus a contribution to traveling expenses, for a period of nine months. It is likely to be divided among several applicants to enable each of them to come for a shorter period. The length of a fellow's stay can also be extended beyond the tenure of her/his fellowship. In the case of senior scholars on sabbatical leave, it can be combined with an income from another source. The fellow will be provided with office space, some secretarial assistance and help in finding accommodation, (s)he will be welcome to take an active part in the Chaire Hoover's activities and will have access to the University's seminars, lecture courses and libraries. Information about the research interests of those currently attached to the Hoover Chair can be found on the latter's web site (http://www.etes.ucl.ac.be/). Applicants with an interest in rethinking together the "social question" and the "national question" in the context of a globalised economy are particularly welcome. If you wish to apply, please send to Philippe Van Parijs (address below) by 28 February 2001: 1. detailed Curriculum Vitae, including a description of your linguistic abilities ; 2. a short description of your research interests ; 3. a statement about your preferences as to the length and timing of your stay and whether you intend coming with your family ; 4. two reference letters (preferably sent directly by their authors). Université catholique de Louvain Chaire Hoover d'éthique économique et sociale, 3 Place Montesquieu, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Fax : 32-10-47.39.52 E-mail : gendebien@etes.ucl.ac.be 5. RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND NEW WEBSITES RELATED TO BIG THE JUSTICE COMMISSION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE RELIGIOUS OF IRELAND (CORI), which has pushed for the adoption of basic income in Ireland, has a new website. It is not complete but it will be developed further in the months ahead. It can be found at: http://www.cori.ie/justice/ HEALING POLITICS: CITIZEN POLICIES AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. By Steve Shafarman, Published by Xlibris Steve Shafarman's new book makes a nonpartisan case for the Citizen's Dividend. The following information is from the publisher: Healing Politics examines how pollution, homelessness, racism, crime, war, and other problems are interrelated with the everyday activities of ordinary citizens, and proposes a way to empower people politically and economically, to reinvigorate our democracy and achieve solutions. Healing Politics updates proposals or plans that were presented by Tom Paine and others among America's founders; that helped inspire the Progressive and Populist movements of the 1890s and 1900s; that sparked the enactment of Social Security during the Great Depression; and that passed the House of Representatives on April 16, 1970, by almost two to one. Advocates in the 1960s included Martin Luther King Jr., politicians from Richard Nixon to Daniel Patrick Moynihan to George McGovern, and economists Milton Friedman, James Tobin, Paul Samuelson, and John Kenneth Galbraith. We the People can heal our political system, and must make government and global corporations serve our needs and interests. As individuals and together, We the People can solve our social, cultural, and environmental problems. Healing Politics shows how. To order or to read sample chapters go to: http://www.Xlibris.com/HealingPolitics.html "Healing Politics" is also available Amazon.com, BN.com, and Borders.com. THE ALASKA PERMANENT FUND, a partial basic income guarantee for all Alaska residents funded from oil revenue, is one of the most popular government programs in the United States. The Permanent Fund, started in 1980, pays all Alaskans, including minors, a yearly dividend from oil revenues from the North Slope. In 1999, more than 80 percent of Alaskan voters rejected a ballot initiative to limit the growth of the fund as a way to decrease the state's budget deficit. For information on Alaska's Permanent Fund, see: http://www.apfc.org/ McKAY, A. & VANAVERY, J. "Gender, Family, and Income Maintenance: A Feminist Case for Citizen's Basic Income", in Social Politics 7 (2), 2000, 266-284. (First author's address: Glasgow Caledonian Univ, Dept Econ, Glasgow G4 0BA, Lanark, Scotland.) Economist McKay and sociologist Vanavery consider proposals for a citizen's basic income in the light of feminist arguments about welfare and inequality. Drawing on feminist critiques of the male breadwinner family, on lesbian and gay demands for sexual citizenship, and on the need to develop welfare policy suitable for a "postfamilial" society, they argue that a citizen's basic income has the potential to provide a basis for a truly universal citizenship. NISSAN, David & LE GRAND, Julian. A Capital Idea. Start-up Grants for Young People, Fabian Society (11 Dartmouth Street, London SW1H 9BN, www.fabian-society.org.uk), "Second Term Thinking", February 2000, 16p., £7.50. (Second author's address: London School of Economics, Houghton St. Aldwych, LONDON WC2A 2AE) In the same vein but more modestly than Ackerman and Alstott's Stakeholder Society (Yale U.P. 1999), this is a lucid and firm plea for a universal yet conditional grant of about 15.000 Euros to be paid to all young people at the age of 18, to be funded by an inheritance tax and to be used for education purposes, as a down-payment on a house or as start-up capital for a business venture. Quite a distance from an unconditional basic income. But some arguments will sound familiar to basic income supporters, for example the "fundamental reason for a universal grant": "Everyone born into a developed country benefits from a share in a common inheritance: a set of capital assets, including buildings and other infrastructure, transport links, capital equipment and agricultural land." VAN PARIJS, Philippe. Basic Income : Guaranteed income for the XXIst century ?, Barcelona: Fundació Rafael Campalans (c/o Rocio Martinez Sampere ), Papers de la Fundació n°121, 2000, 36p. (vanparijs@etes.ucl.ac.be ) Neatly published by the foundation linked to the Catalan socialist party, Van Parijs's compact introduction to basic income was commissioned by the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union and served as a background paper for BIEN's Berlin conference. VAN PARIJS, Philippe. "Basic Income and the Two Dilemmas of the Welfare State", in The Welfare State. A Reader (Christopher Pierson & Francis G. Castles eds.), Cambridge: Polity Press & Malden (MA): Blackwell, 2000, pp.355-59. Now included in a major new anthology on social policy, this is a reprint of a brief plea for basic income as a response to the two central dilemmas that face welfare states in Europe and beyond as we enter the XXIst century: fighting unemployment versus fighting poverty as productivity varies ever more widely across individuals; securing the economic feasibility of solidarity versus its political feasibility as human capital becomes more mobile across national boundaries. WACQUANT, Loïc (2000), 'Logics of urban polarization: the view from below' in Rosemary Crompton & al., Renewing Class Analysis, Oxford: Blackwell, 107-119. (loic@uclink2.berkeley.edu) In this paper on marginality and inequalities in Western cities, the renowned Berkeley-based French sociologist Loïc Wacquant briefly reasserts his commitment to a unconditional basic income: "Radical innovations, such as the institution of a citizen's wage (or unconditional income grant) that would sever subsistence from work, expand access to education through the lifecourse, and effectively guarantee universal access to essential public goods such as housing, health, and transportation, are needed to expand social rights and check the deleterious effects of the mutation of wage-labour" (p.118) 6. MONTREAL COLLOQUIUM REMINDER Remember the Montreal colloquium on social cohesion and social protection, which includes a presentation by Guy Standing, will take place on January 25-26. More information on the event is available at: http://www.juris.uqam.ca/maitrise/Colloques_et_Actes/colloques.html 7. LINKS AND OTHER INFO THE U.S. BASIC INCOME GUARANTEE NETWORK (USBIG), which publishes this newsletter, is dedicated to promoting the discussion basic income guarantee in the United States. USBIG supports a regular seminar series, a newsletter, a website, and soon a conference. Information on USBIG can be found at: http://www.usbig.net Or by email at: Karl@Widerquist.com. THE BASIC INCOME EUROPEAN NETWORK (BIEN) maintains a website, publishes a newsletter, and organizes conferences promoting basic income in Europe and around the world. The BIEN website is: http://www.econ.ucl.ac.be/ETES/BIEN/bien.html THE CITIZENS' INCOME STUDY CENTRE of Britain publishes a newsletter and maintains a website; both have news on citizen's income (a version of BIG) from the United Kingdom and around the world: http://www.citizensincome.org BASIC INCOME/CANADA (BI/Canada) is developing a website and maintains an email discussion group. To subscribe, send a message to: saying To be included on the BI/Canada email list to receive periodic newsletters, send your email address to with on the subject line. OASIS (ORGANISATION ADVOCATING SUPPORT INCOME STUDIES IN AUSTRALIA), The Australian Basic Income group, publishes an email newsletter. Anyone interested in receiving a copy should contact: Allan McDonald THE SOUTH AFRICAN NEW ECONOMICS FOUNDATION (SANE) promotes BIG in South Africa and Worldwide. It can be found at: http://sane.org.za VERENIGING BASINKOMEN promotes Basic Income in the Netherlands. It's website is: www.basisinkomen.nl Universal Basic Income New Zealand (UBINZ) promotes basic income in New Zealand. Their website is: http://www.geocities.com/~ubinz/ GRUNDEINKOMMEN OSTERREICH promotes Basic Income in Austria. Their website is: http://www.vobs.at/asav/pax1.htm THE BOSTON REVIEW included an extensive article on the basic income guarantee in its October-November 2000 issue. The article will be published as a book this spring. The full text of the issue can be found on line at: http://bostonreview.mit.edu/ THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES (CSDS) has been talking about some form of BIG for 30 years. More information can be found at: www.centersds.com MATS HÖGLUND has created two BIG web sites: One in English: http://go.to/basicincomemovement And one in Swedish: http://go.to/basinkomst TIM ROURKE maintains a BIG website at: http://www3.sympatico.ca/tim.rourke/bi.html THE GEONOMY SOCIETY, which promotes using land taxes to support a universal basic income guarantee, can be reached at: http://www.progress.org/geonomy MANFRED FUELLSACK maintains a BIG bibliography on line at: http://mailbox.univie.ac.at/~fuellsm9/bibliobi.html SOCIAL AGENDA sponsors a Caregivers Tax Credit Campaign. Although it isn't a universal basic income guarantee, it will distribute income to anyone caring for (directly or indirectly) another human in need. Their website is: http://www.caregivercredit.org THE ALASKA PERMANENT FUND pays a partial Basic Income Guarantee to all Alaska residents funded from oil revenue. For information see: http://www.apfc.org/ HEALING POLITICS: CITIZEN POLICIES AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, Steve Shafarman's book on the Citizens' Dividend can be ordered on line at: http://www.Xlibris.com/HealingPolitics.html DANIEL RAVENTOS maintains a site that gives wide information on publications and events relevant to basic income, especially in Spanish and in Catalan at: http://www.humano.ya.com/ademetrio. It has an associated electronic list: http://www.rediris.es/list/info/rentabasica.html Contact address: ravento@eco.ub.es FINALLY, If you know any BIG news; if you have any comments on the newsletter or the web site; if you know anyone who would like to be added to this list; or if you would like to be removed from this list; please email me at: Karl@Widerquist.com. Thanks. -Karl Widerquist, coordinator, USBIG.