"Establish an unconditional basic income is probably one of the most important advances of the last 100 years. The right to vote for women, civil rights ... and tomorrow income for all. This is an incredible opportunity to be able to establish what would become the biggest release of the human being."
This post on citizen dividend has quite a few gems.
"Dividends from common wealth, by contrast, unite society by putting all its members in the same boat. The income everyone receives is a right, not a handout. This changes the story, the psychology and the politics."
"A national dividend system would be simple, fair and immensely popular. It would rest on the principle of shared ownership, not redistribution. Once set up, it would be market-based rather than tax-funded. And it could gain support across the political spectrum: conservatives from Sarah Palin to Bill O’Reilly have lauded Alaska’s dividends."
"Our times demand a reliable flow of supplementary income as well. The best way to provide that is to pay dividends to everyone from wealth that’s logically ours."
From progress.org (Aug 28, 2014), on the above post about citizen dividend:
"What’s needed is for regular people to feel enough self-esteem to demand a fair share of what’s already ours just like the rich feel when winning an enormous share of what’s not theirs. We’re not broke. There is a surplus. It just needs to be shared. People need to quit demanding jobs and start demanding justice."
When will more people around the world be more like Alaskans, demanding their share of their own state's resources?
When will the Alaskans be more Alaskan, demanding a better share of their own state's resources? They only get a quarter of what the state gets from the oil companies, which is a small fraction of the oil wealth. I think Alaskans get less than 10% of their oil wealth in citizen dividends.
A devoted supporter of representative democracy, Gauck warned the Swiss of the dangers of direct democracy "when the citizens vote on highly complex topics"
In contrast to Gauck, many SVP supporters consider the will of the people infallible and sacrosanct.
When are citizens going to demand the return of their confiscated citizen dividend?
"Swiss voters narrowly decided that immigration quotas would be reintroduced, thereby overturning the free movement policy introduced in the European Union 12 years ago. "
Switzerland is a great democratic country because its voters get to decide issues. In most other countries, voters just pick the winning politicians, who deem themselves capable of deciding everything for you.
"The most intriguing of all the ideas will come to the voters next year.
Under a proposal spelled out in a referendum, every Swiss citizen regardless of income would receive a monthly check of $2,800 from the government.
The notion of a guaranteed income is receiving enormous attention around the world. The idea defies traditional notions of government assistance and means-testing. Instead of a giant bureaucracy and complex programs breaking down assistance for food or housing, the government would make sure nobody lives in poverty, and presumably dismantle a host of welfare structures."
The rich should support unconditional basic income. It is in their interest.
"Rising inequality is the proven enemy of stability. And nobody benefits more from stability than the wealthy."
In kingdoms, the kings or queens own their countries. The common wealth belongs to them.
In citizen ownership democracies, citizens own their countries. The common wealth belongs to them. Current democracies rob citizens of their ownership.
We, citizens all over the world, are all kings and queens of our countries.
We need to stretch out our royal hands and take back our royal citizen-ownership rights.
"In Switzerland, we will vote on basic income! We have a very special thing here which is called: Direct Democracy. It means that a group of citizens can propose a law to be voted on by all citizens, if they succeed to collect more than 100,000 signatures. That's what is happening right now in Switzerland with basic income. 126,000 signatures have been collected!"
"We, Swiss activists supporting this idea, are conscious that we are watched by the whole world, especially after the media coverage of October 4th! We now know that we can make a difference, not only in Switzerland, but also in the whole world by showing what is possible! We are paving the way towards basic income. We are conscious that a monumental challenge is in front of us!"
'The men [including women] of the time had any number of reasons why women should not be given the vote. Most of them, today, we would regard as pure prejudice.'
'These are the arguments they came up with. Some of them might seem silly to you, but they made a lot of sense to people at the time: - “Women and men have ‘separate spheres’.” - “Most women do not want the vote.” - “Women’s role is in local affairs.” - “Women are already represented by their husbands.” - “It is dangerous to change a system that works.” - “Women do not fight to defend their country.”'
Another name for unconditional basic income is universal basic income. Everybody gets the unconditional basic income. It is universal, just like universal suffrage where everyone gets the voting right. Many arguments against an unconditional basic income may make a lot of sense today. But how will they look to a future generation when unconditional basic income is as universal as universal suffrage now?
Swiss Initiative and the World stands for basic income on the 4th of October!
'Let’s all gather in the Swiss capital for this really special day ! Let’s make 4th of October a basic income event for Europe and the world."
"The Swiss initiative in detail:The popular initiative for an unconditional basic income (UBI), which in the view of its supporters should be thought of as a civil right rather than social welfare, was launched in 2012. It aims to have a new clause incorporated into the Swiss constitution that the Confederation “shall ensure the introduction of an unconditional basic income. The basic income shall enable the whole population to live in human dignity and participate in public life. Particularly the law shall regulate the way in which the basic income is to be financed and the level at which it is set.”
The success of the Swiss initiative could be a model for the whole of Europe.' (http://bien.ch/fr/node/801)
And a model for the whole world.
A democracy with an unconditional basic income or a citizen dividend is really a new civilization. Unconditional basic income is the monetary equivalent of universal suffrage. Citizens will get political power AND monetary power.
Will the basic income revolution come from Switzerland?
“Now they take us seriously”
“Since we reached the quotum of 100k signatures, the media regards us differently” observes Anne-Béatrice Duparc, member of the committee of the BIEN-CH. As an illustration, the leftist newspaper ‘Le Courrier’ headlined last week was: “The Basic income has emerged in the debate”
“Now they take us seriously” Anna-Béatrice says, “all the Swiss now have the opportunity to think about the fact that the right to existence should not necessarily be linked to a work position. In itself, this is a victory for us” she concludes.
This is an article about the Swiss effort at an unconditional basic income. It looks like the people of Switzerland will get to vote on this fantastic idea (unless invalid signatures bring down the number of signatures below 100,000)
Alaska has a partial citizen-ownership democracy, with substantial payments to every resident every year (about $1000 to $2000).
Mongolia has a partial citizen-ownership democracy, with small payments to citizens.
These are countries with citizen dividend written into their laws and implemented.
There are countries that distribute cash yearly or every few years, but which do not have explicit laws about it. These include Malaysia, Macau, Venezuela, Hong Kong and Singapore.
This Swiss proposal is a lot more substantial: 2500 Swiss Franc per month for adults and less for children.
The effort for a referendum on basic income in Switzerland is conducted by:
Many countries have massive common wealth which can easily support a very substantial unconditional basic income, or citizen dividend. The money is there. The politicians are unmotivated. The citizens don't know what they are missing.
If you include land sales and return on reserves, the government actually made a surplus of SGD 187 bn cumulatively during the eight years 2005-2012 compared to SGD 17.35 bn reported in the budget document.
Land sales for 2012 was $27.97 billions. The earlier estimate was only $12 billions.
The earlier estimate of $9,000 annual citizen-ownership income per citizen is very much on the low side. It will not be surprising if the possible annual citizen-ownership income is $20,000 per citizen. A family of 4 would be missing out on their rightful citizen-ownership income of $80,000 every year.
This is a 1-year campaign to gather 1 million signatures from at least 7 countries in the EU, to table a legislative proposal on unconditional basic income for the EU. This campaign started on 14th January 2013. Whatever the outcome, it will be a big step forward for citizen awareness, that citizens have a right to a basic income, or a citizen-ownership dividend.
"The strategy deployed by the various organizations involved in the ECI is mostly to initiate a signal to all citizens: for the first time in the world, organizations and citizens of fourteen countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Kingdom) decided to join forces to promote the basic income. Clearly it is only a first step in the creation of a Europe-wide social movement around this idea."
The proposal describes in detail how a basic income is essential for people's fundamental rights under the EU. Financial rights, either in the form of an unconditional basic income or a citizen-ownership income, are essential for a person to enjoy the basic civil and social rights. Without financial rights, people may be forced to sell themselves into slavery, or forced to engage in very dangerous occupations.
"Main objectives:In the long run the objective is to offer to each person in the EU the unconditional right as an individual, to having his/her material needs met to ensure a life of dignity as stated by the EU treaties, and to empower participation in society supported by the introduction of the UBI. In the short term, initiatives such as “pilot‐studies“ (Art 156 TFEU) and examination of different models of UBI (EP resolution 2010/2039(INI) §44) should be promoted by the EU.
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union Consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on Functioning of the European Union 2010/C83/01 (30th March 2010) Article 1 Human dignity Human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected. Reasons for Unconditional Basic Income: The dignity of the individual must include the opportunity of living freely and responsibly within society. The Unconditional Basic Income grants freedom to each individual and a life in responsibility by removing existential and administrative constraints as well as exclusion from social life. Article 2 Right to life (1) Everyone has the right to life. Reasons for Unconditional Basic Income: This human right to life is undisputed. Within our present economic system, life depends on obtaining material existence through funds. Of course, one could also obtain this using vouchers. The users of such vouchers would be discriminated against compared with individuals who are free to decide how to use their finances from different sources of income. The legal right to a Unconditional Basic Income transfer payment ensures a dignified life with the opportunity to participate in society, and also fulfills the right to a life of justice, free from discrimination. Article 6 Right to liberty and security Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. Reasons for Unconditional Basic Income: The Unconditional Basic Income supports the free choice of personal life-style, European Citizens' Initiative on Unconditional Basic Income (Annex) - page 5/7 the arrangement of one’s social relations and whether to engage in social and economic cooperation. With freedom comes responsibility in solidarity. In addition to the protection provided by the current social insurance systems and social services, the UBI is the best guarantee of financial security during times of illness and unemployment. Article 15 Freedom to choose an occupation and right to engage in work 1. Everyone has the right to engage in work and to pursue a freely chosen or accepted occupation. Reasons for Unconditional Basic Income: The Unconditional Basic Income makes it easier to practise a freely chosen, or at least acceptable, occupation. Under many current income maintenance systems, the need for material goods and services in order to survive, together with various administrative constraints, restricts one’s freedom of choice of occupation and forces one to accept unsuitable paid work.
Thoughts on Basic Income Guarantee | Remo's Blog: "I have to say that I am quite inspired by the Basic Income Guarantee." The blogger has signed the Swiss petition for a Basic Income. I have to say that I am inspired by the Basic Income Guarantee and the Alaska Permanent Fund. I suspect the world has not evolved into citizen-ownership democracies because people are not aware of such a democracy. What? Dividends just for being a citizen? Yes, because we are owners of our country!
The following is the earlier post on this initiative:
The Swiss are trying for a Basic Income legislation !!!
As reported in swissinfo.ch, Apr 12, 2012 - 16:03
"Signatures are being collected for a proposal aimed at introducing an unconditional basic income for everyone living in Switzerland.
Organisers of the initiative, launched in Bern on Thursday, consider a guaranteed income a civil right and stressed it was neither a redistribution initiative nor a call to abolish social welfare.
The group, including a former senior government official and an ex-chief economist of a leading Swiss bank, has 18 months to collect at least 100,000 valid signatures to force a nationwide vote on the issue.
They believe that with a basic income of SFr2,500 ($2,730) – children would receive a quarter of that – everyone could live in “dignity and freedom”, without being plagued by existential fears."
The Swiss allows normal citizens to initiate a legislation process, unlike countries such as UK or Singapore.
I wish the Swiss success with their Basic Income law.
Before the general election in May 2011, Lee Hsien Loong told voters, "Singapore belongs to you." This is reported by Channelnewsasia. (Here is another link from asiaone.)
Abraham Lincoln also said that the United States belong to their people, in his Inaugural address in 1862:
"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it."
It took the Americans more than 100 years since Lincoln's speech before one state, Alaska, implements true ownership. Residents in Alaska have been getting annual income from being owners of Alaska.
Do Singaporeans have to wait 100 years before they can get annual incomes from being owners of Singapore?
There is hope. There is a world-wide movement for citizen right to a basic income just for being citizens in their countries. Brazil is doing it. Switzerland is doing it. Canada is doing it. Germany Merkel is talking it. Macau is doing it. Mongolia is doing it. Alaska has already done it.
The Swiss are trying for a Basic Income legislation !!!
As reported in swissinfo.ch, Apr 12, 2012 - 16:03
"Signatures are being collected for a proposal aimed at introducing an unconditional basic income for everyone living in Switzerland.
Organisers of the initiative, launched in Bern on Thursday, consider a guaranteed income a civil right and stressed it was neither a redistribution initiative nor a call to abolish social welfare.
The group, including a former senior government official and an ex-chief economist of a leading Swiss bank, has 18 months to collect at least 100,000 valid signatures to force a nationwide vote on the issue.
They believe that with a basic income of SFr2,500 ($2,730) – children would receive a quarter of that – everyone could live in “dignity and freedom”, without being plagued by existential fears."
The Swiss allows normal citizens to initiate a legislation process, unlike countries such as UK or Singapore.
I wish the Swiss success with their Basic Income law.
