Dear UBI Friends and Supporters,
We hope this update meets you well.
- Would you like to join us for an in-person UBI Lab Leeds meeting?
We will have a UBI Lab Leeds discussion and social gathering on Tuesday, 4th March, starting at 6.00 PM (18.00hrs) at the Arcadia pub (34 Arndale Centre, Headingley, Leeds LS6 2UE) (https://theeuropeanbarguide.com/arcadia-leeds/ ).
We will discuss the proposal of our UBI sister Lab Manchester: ‘A Basic Income for Greater Manchester – Plans for a feasible, affordable and popular pilot’ which has just been published this month. In particular we will address the following
- What are your questions and comments regarding the Manchester proposal?
- What are your thoughts about the potential cohorts and the financing of the pilot?
- Can this proposal serve as a model for Leeds?
You can read and download the proposal here.
We will also cover
- Any other topic: What are your questions about UBI?
You are welcome to bring along friends!
2) The following comments have been published about the Manchester proposal:
Canary: A UBI pilot could be about to help hundreds of homeless people in Greater Manchester by Hannah Sharland
TimeOut: This English city could be the first to trial universal basic income –
Hundreds of homeless residents in Greater Manchester could receive £1,600 a month – no strings attached by Amy Houghton
Big Issue: Inside the plan to give free cash to homeless people in Manchester: ‘It’s time to try something new’ – Academics and campaigners have proposed a new basic income for Greater Manchester after mayor Andy Burnham vowed to introduce one in the city region
Big Issue: How ChatGPT and AI changed the conversation on universal basic income – The idea of a basic income has gone from a pipe dream to being considered ‘inevitable’ and the advent of artificial intelligence has had a huge role to play, writes Ubasic income Lab Manchester’s Alison Hawdale – one of the campaigners trying to convince Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to introduce a basic income in the region
Basic Income Show of Scott Santens in the USA: The live stream discusses the Greater Manchester proposal at 1 hr 47-53 min.
3) UBI Lab member Dave Beck has published in Bylines Cymru ‘The future of an independent Cymru and potential of a Universal Basic Income – Some say Cymru can’t afford independence nor afford to adopt a Universal Basic Income. But neither is a unicorn dream and together they could end poverty’.
4) You may have heard of ‘Musk mulls sending all Americans $5,000 Checks Using DOGE Savings’ and some have associated it with a Basic Income. Scott Santens explains in his blog why it is not and even the amount is misleading ‘What’s the deal with the $5,000 ‘DOGE Dividend’ checks?’
5) The educational charity Equal Right – Economic Justice without Borders has proposed a Cap and Share Agreement. The proposal includes three principles
A binding ‘Cap’ on fossil fuel extraction, mitigating the main cause of the climate crisis and keeping us within planetary boundaries;
A ‘polluter pays’ principle, with a ‘Charge’ levied on all extraction by fossil fuel companies;
A new international body set up to ‘Share’ the revenue from the charge as climate finance, climate grants and a direct, unconditional cash payment to all.
You can read the full proposal here. Now the small Pacific island state of Palau has endorsed the proposal as the first country in the world.
6) Scott Santens has selected his top 10 UBI articles of the year 2024. You can read them here.
7) Karl Widerquist, a researcher and advocate of basic income, has given an interview about his indepentarian political theory and the framework of justice as the pursuit of accord (JPA). His idea of justice as the pursuit of accord stems from his criticisms of natural rights theory and social contract theory. According to him we need a new framework to justify social arrangements. A well-intentioned individual seeking to organize social arrangements and interact with others should aim to cooperate rather than impose their will. You can read the full interview about the important topic here.
8) An academic study with German university students investigates the relationships between university students’ scarcity mindset – defined as the feeling of not having enough resources – and their sense of agency, including self-perceived competence, psychological need satisfaction, and beliefs about intelligence. The prevention of a scarcity mindset is an important justification for a UBI. You can download the article here.
We hope to see you on 4th March, 18.00hrs at the Arcadia.
In solidarity and with hope
best wishes
reinhard on behalf of UBI Lab Leeds