Hosts: Mike Wheeler and Mark Nunan
Note the time is 10am EDT for the Current Affairs. One hour earlier than usual. Mr. Cooke is joining us from Scotland.
June 17th Universal Basic Income in Europe-Jamie Cooke, Head of RSA Scotland and Leading figure is in the global basic income discussion. Appearance courtesy of Ric Grefe
As the COVID19 pandemic has thrown the world into turmoil, pre-existing issues of economic insecurity, the changing nature of work, and the impact of climate change have been accelerated and deepened. This has brought a significant challenge for the public and businesses, yet it has also opened up space to consider new ideas for changing the social contract of countries around the world.
One of these ideas to have sprung to prominence is that of a basic income, a regular, secure, and unconditional payment made to each eligible person. Cities across the US are considering piloting examples of the policy to test its impact, and countries such as Scotland are actively exploring opportunities to introduce the idea on a national level.
Join Jamie Cooke, Head of RSA Scotland and a leading figure in the global basic income discussion to explore the history of this old idea; the reasons that it has gained such traction in recent years; and what the future might look like. It will be an opportunity to explore your questions, reflections and critiques of basic income; and to potentially identify steps for getting involved if that is of interest.”
Mike Wheeler’s US references
- Hartford’s UBI pilot https://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-news-hartford-universal-basic-income-pilot-20210503-j6nwuq74f5babna2evlhw62jwa-story.html
- Biden Child Credit https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/upshot/mothers-child-allowance-biden.html?searchResultPosition=1
- Left Defense of UBI https://stanfordsphere.com/2019/11/13/a-left-defense-of-universal-basic-income/
- Libertarian Case for UBI https://stanfordsphere.com/2018/02/24/the-libertarian-case-for-universal-basic-income/
Jamie Cooke’s global references
- A Basic Income for Scotland https://www.thersa.org/reports/basic-income-scotland
- Stanford Basic Income Lab https://basicincome.stanford.edu/
- Mayors for a Guaranteed Income https://www.mayorsforagi.org/
- Economic Security Project https://www.economicsecurityproject.org/
- Basic Income: Scotland’s radical chance to lead the world again (TEDx Glasgow) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPA0qoem-hQ
- Poverty isn’t a lack of character, it’s a lack of cash (TED) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydKcaIE6O1k
- Pathways to Universal Basic Income https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/pdfs/reports/rsa_pathways-to-universal-basic-income-report.pdf
