tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39685864389742139692024-02-08T04:50:01.967+01:00FrisindKarsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-24044246642424829852022-03-06T13:01:00.002+01:002022-03-06T13:04:25.492+01:00Magtfuld eller magtfuldkommen<div class="Ar Au Ao" id=":47"><div aria-label="Meddelelsens tekst" aria-multiline="true" class="Am Al editable LW-avf tS-tW tS-tY" g_editable="true" hidefocus="true" id=":2k" itacorner="6,7:1,1,0,0" role="textbox" spellcheck="false" style="direction: ltr; min-height: 298px;" tabindex="1"><div class="gmail_default"><div class="gmail-kvgmc6g5 gmail-cxmmr5t8 gmail-oygrvhab gmail-hcukyx3x gmail-c1et5uql gmail-ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hvor er jeg træt af at se ældre, hvide mænd ødelægge verden, mænd som automatisk ville blive sorteret fra i bunken af ansøgninger hvis de søgte et helt almindeligt job. Jeg går ikke ind for aldersdiskrimination – er selv snart en ældre hvid mand – men det er alligevel tankevækkende at så mange af verdens mest magtfulde mennesker tilhører denne snævre kategori. Og hvis alder så bare var deres største problem.</span></div></div><div class="gmail-cxmmr5t8 gmail-oygrvhab gmail-hcukyx3x gmail-c1et5uql gmail-o9v6fnle gmail-ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Det er en kilde til konstant undren for mig at man i lande som USA og Rusland, for nu bare at holde os til dem, som har så mange begavede, talentfulde og retskafne mennesker med hjertet på rette sted, ender med ledere som Trump og Putin. Trump, som blot er "Putin light" eller "Putin in spe", er ganske vist ikke ved magten lige nu, men han kan desværre komme igen, hvis han da ikke bliver standset af retssager forinden. Trump var tæt på at forvandle USA til en autoritær stat, og hvis han bliver genvalgt, kan han måske gøre arbejdet færdigt. Og Putin er bare en simpel gangster, en mafialeder som er nødt til at holde sig ved magten fordi retssagerne og de utallige fjender han har samlet sig, venter på den anden side.</span></div></div><div class="gmail-cxmmr5t8 gmail-oygrvhab gmail-hcukyx3x gmail-c1et5uql gmail-o9v6fnle gmail-ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Det er vitterligt et mysterium for mig at så store og for verdens sikkerhed afgørende lande med en så betydelig talentmasse får ledere hvis eneste ambition er magt (og penge) for enhver pris, hvor prisen ofte er menneskeliv som i deres optik frit kan ofres hvis det er opportunt. Tab af menneskeliv er "collateral damage", en nødvendig investering til sikring af magten. Det er ledere som i alle andre sammenhænge ville blive betragtet som stærkt afvigende og som de færreste ville ønske at have som venner, og de har da typisk heller ikke mange af dem. Da de som regel er rendyrkede narcissister og savner enhver form for empati eller interesse i andre mennesker og deres synspunkter, er de fuldt ud tilfredse med rygklappere og er sjældent interesserede i dialog fordi det kunne resultere i et møde med divergerende synspunkter som kun ville stille sig i vejen for det de allerede har besluttet.</span></div></div><div class="gmail-cxmmr5t8 gmail-oygrvhab gmail-hcukyx3x gmail-c1et5uql gmail-o9v6fnle gmail-ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jeg bliver så glad hver gang jeg ser tidligere eller nuværende kvindelige ledere som fx Sanna Marin, Kaja Kallas, Olga Stefanishyna, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Ursula von der Leyen for nu at nævne nogle stykker. Der burde være kønskvotering til lederposter og navnlig når det gælder lande med så stor indflydelse som USA og Rusland. Hvis det blev skrevet ind i de landes forfatning at hver anden præsident skulle være en kvinde, ville vi være nået langt. Lad mig dog lige tilføje at jeg ikke har noget imod Biden. Han gør det godt, men det er ikke nogen hemmelighed at jeg hellere havde set en anden demokratisk kandidat vinde præsidentvalget.</span></div></div><div class="gmail-cxmmr5t8 gmail-oygrvhab gmail-hcukyx3x gmail-c1et5uql gmail-o9v6fnle gmail-ii04i59q" style="color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mennesker med magt opfatter jeg ikke som magtfulde bare fordi de hersker over andre. Man bør skelne mellem magtfuld og magtfuldkommen. Magtfulde er mennesker som har magt over sig selv eller som behersker et stof via deres talent. Det er ikke noget talent og det gør ikke i sig selv verden til et bedre sted at stræbe efter magt for magtens skyld. Det er blot magtfuldkommenhed og er i bund og grund et behandlingskrævende patologisk karaktertræk. Autoritære ledere og regimer er menneskehedens og civilisationens børnesygdomme, og de forekommer allerede nu at være en anakronisme, at høre en anden tid til. For hvor absurd er det ikke lige at millioner af mennesker skal være ofre for et enkelt individs megalomaniske ambitioner og forfængelighed? Jeg er sikker på at mange, også i Rusland, deler den opfattelse, og det giver håb.</span></div></div></div></div></div>Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-23813588242930918362021-03-27T16:19:00.000+01:002021-03-27T16:19:59.344+01:00 Kognitiv dissonans i det alternative Trump-segmentJeg har tidligere skrevet om det hastigt voksende problem at dele af det spirituelle/alternative miljø er blevet ofre for en voldsom politisk højredrejning og diverse konspirationsteorier. Man kan næsten tale om en radikalisering der breder sig som en virus, ironisk nok taget i betragtning at de samme mennesker ofte mener at risikoen for at blive ramt af en virus og blive syg af den, er forsvindende lille, hvorfor de i stedet forlader sig på et stærkt immunforsvar og diverse kosttilskud. Mod denne her virus hjælper til gengæld hverken immunforsvaret eller kosttilskud. Hvad der skal til, ved jeg faktisk ikke, men en dybere forståelse af årsagerne til at så mange hopper ned i kaninhullet og kritisk, undersøgende journalistik til afdækning af hvem der står bag de alternative fortællinger eller myter, herunder hvem der kan have interesse i at udbrede dem viralt, er vigtige første skridt i et forsøg på at komme dem til livs. Dertil kommer oplysning på et sagligt, empirisk grundlag under anvendelse af mange forskellige kilder som alle skal udmærke sig ved både at være verificerbare og falsificerbare. Om nødvendigt skal kilderne basere sig på peerreviewet forskning. <div><br /></div><div> Et blandt flere paradokser man møder i de konspirituelle kredse, som i mange tilfælde følger for at ikke at sige dyrker Trump som en slags profet og frelser - og det selv efter at han nu ikke længere er præsident - er at det ofte er de samme mennesker som går stærkt ind for beskyttelse af sårbar natur, biologisk mangfoldighed, økologi osv. Men ingen anden præsident i nyere tid har taget så mange skridt til skade for miljøet som Trump. De konspirituelle har tilsyneladende meget lidt eller ingen interesse i den del af Trumps politik, men har mest været optaget af at han var manden som kunne tage magten fra "den globale elite", som flere af dem mener har styret verden "i årtusinder", og som tilfældigvis også alle sammen har været eller er pædofile, kvinder såvel som mænd! Det er ikke nogen tilfældighed at især QAnon-bevægelsen beskylder politiske modstandere for pædofili, for de ved at alene ordet er nok til at hjernen slår fra og enhver form for fornuft og kildekritik sættes på standby hos dem de forsøger at påvirke. Det virker som en trylleformular, og tilbage er kun tunnelsyn og bevidstløse delinger på de sociale medier. </div><div><br /></div><div>At Trump har været en katastrofe for miljøet, er til gengæld ikke en myte, men en konkret og målbar kendsgerning. Harvard University har løbende publiceret den lange række af tilbagerulninger af love og regulativer til beskyttelse af luft, vand og sårbare naturområder som Trump-administrationen har stået for, og som i flere tilfælde har sat USA tilbage til tiden før 1970. Jeg linker her til en artikel fra New York Times og, for de mere nørdede, også til hele Harvards "Regulatory Rollback Tracker". </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/regulatory-rollback-tracker/">https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/regulatory-rollback-tracker/</a></div>Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-64181561414156218982021-02-12T16:48:00.002+01:002022-10-26T14:23:47.956+02:00Trumps ugerninger<p><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">Ingen, som er i besiddelse af bare en smule anstændighed, kan andet end forfærdes over Trumps ugerninger, hans kynisme og magtbegær. Der findes næppe noget eller nogen han ikke ville ofre for at blive ved magten. I Trumps verden findes kun Trump, men kulten omkring ham ser det ikke. Det her er for længst ophørt med at være politik, hvis det nogensinde har været det, og er nu kun ren persondyrkelse. Trump har til fulde bevist hvad han sagde allerede i 2016, at han fint kunne skyde en eller anden på gaden og ikke miste stemmer på det.</span></p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Man har sagt at hvis flere havde læst og forstået at Hitler faktisk mente det han skrev i Mein Kampf, ville man have taget ham mere alvorligt. På samme måde skulle man måske have taget Trump alvorligt når han allerede inden valget i 2016 proklamerede at hvis han tabte, ville der være tale om valgsvindel. Nu vandt han faktisk, og så var alt jo i den skønneste orden, alle stemmer var blevet talt korrekt op, Dominion-maskinerne fungerede upåklageligt osv. Op til valget i 2020 gentog Trump sin påstand om at hvis han tabte, måtte det være valgfusk, og den fortælling har han så holdt fast i, for hvis en usandhed bliver gentaget tilstrækkelig mange gange af en person man i forvejen anser for at være en profet eller frelser, ender den med at bliver kanoniseret som sandhed. Igen en historie vi kender fra 1930'ernes Tyskland. Det er åbenbart ikke faldet mange af hans tilhængere ind at reflektere lidt over om der måske kunne være tale om et mønster, en bestemt strategi som bliver gentaget valg efter valg. Det har heller ikke gjort indtryk på dem at alle anklager om valgsvindel er blevet afvist ved adskillige domstole og at selv mange republikanske politikere har anerkendt valgresultatet, med andre ord, persondyrkelsen har ført til at et stor antal af Trumps vælgere ikke længere tror på grundlæggende demokratiske institutioner som retsvæsenet. De har således meldt sig ud af demokratiet, og tilbage er for dem kun en etpartistat, og det parti hedder Trump. Alle andre er forrædere, og det uanset om de tilhører det republikanske eller demokratiske parti.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Beviserne mod Trump i rigsretssagen, som de er blevet fremført de seneste par dage, er så overvældende at det vil være en skamplet på USA's historie, der ikke kan viskes væk, hvis han ikke bliver dømt, og det sker formentlig ikke da de republikanske senatorer er bange for deres politiske fremtid eller ganske enkelt frygter for deres liv. Det er dertil USA er nået, takket være Trump, et land på randen af borgerkrig og autokrati, og det vil formentlig tage årtier for landet at genfinde sit demokratiske fodfæste.</div>Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-46707021624773188852021-01-17T16:43:00.002+01:002022-10-26T14:24:30.213+02:00Synkronicitet<p><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">Enhver der færdes på cykel på øde veje, som jeg gør næsten hver dag, ved at det usandsynlige indtræffer med så insisterende selvfølgelighed at det næppe kan være en tilfældighed, men må være bestemt af eller andet, forsynet måske. Men som det ubønhørligt rationelle og ugudelige menneske jeg er, kan jeg ikke få mig selv til at tro at noget, skæbnen eller for den sags skyld Vorherre, har lagt noget som helst til rette for mig, og det uanset om det handler om noget ganske trivielt eller om livsforandrende begivenheder såsom at møde den eneste ene, hvad der for mange ikke føles så tilfældigt som det jo i virkeligheden er. Mennesker har det med at forveksle forudbestemthed med den række af trivielle årsager der har ført frem til det de opfatter som noget helt unikt.</span></p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I den trivielle afdeling af usandsynligheder, som virker så nøje tilrettelagte at man kunne fristes til at tro at nogen eller noget må stå bag, er at jeg altid, eller sådan føles det, kan være sikker på at de to eneste biler jeg møder på min øde vej, er to modkørende der passerer mig netop i det øjeblik jeg selv skal passere en stor vandpyt, som igen sandsynligvis er den eneste jeg møder på hele strækningen. Jeg er til gengæld ret overbevist om at hvor usandsynligt det end forekommer mig at være, er det noget alle cyklister kan nikke genkendende til. Det er med andre ord helt normalt og dagligdags.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Forklaringen er formentlig ret ligetil. Vi lægger mest mærke til begivenheder der har betydning for vores liv, selv når det gælder vandpytter man ikke bare kan køre udenom. Alle andre konstellationer af modkørende biler end dem der er ud for os, er ikke relevante, men er for så vidt lige så enestående og betydningsfulde. Det samme tænkte jeg da Jupiter og Saturn for nylig stod næsten oven i hinanden på nattehimlen. Ikke siden 1226 havde man kunnet observere et tilsvarende fænomen. Alligevel er alle andre konstellationer formentlig lige så sjældne. Vi tillægger dem bare ingen betydning. Jung kaldte den slags meningsgivende sammenfald eller tilfældigheder for synkronicitet.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Jeg skriver det her i respekt for de upåagtede, men ikke desto mindre enestående hændelser og måske også for at tage lidt af glansen af synkroniciteten, af alt det vi tillægger større betydning end det måske kan bære. Ved på den måde at udvide vores opmærksomhed fra et snævert felt af tillagt mening til et langt større rum af potentiel mening, vil vi måske blive bedre til at iagttage hvert øjebliks fylde og umistelige værdi. Det sker, når jeg passerer nogen på gaden, at jeg tænker at jeg formentlig aldrig vil møde den person igen. Jeg kan så vælge at være ret ligeglad, og det må jeg da indrømme at jeg som oftest er, men jeg kan også vælge at se det som en enestående begivenhed, måske endda med en følelse af tab. Samme tanke kan jeg få når jeg iagttager et lille insekt der kravler hen over jorden i al ubemærkethed. Det er også en form for synkronicitet, om end i latent form, for det insekt er til i verden, og nu også i min verden, og selv om det ikke har umiddelbar mening for mig, har det værdi. Jeg kalder det intrinsisk værdi, og hvad det er, vil jeg skrive om en anden gang.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></div>Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-33007326081253397392020-12-25T12:36:00.003+01:002021-08-28T12:38:55.525+02:00Ars NovaLige før jul sidste år var jeg inde og høre <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Ars Nova Copenhagen</a>, som formentlig er et af verdens bedste kor. Det var i Garnisonskirken, og de sang bl.a. Missa Puer natus est nobis af Thomas Tallis.<br />I næsten samme øjeblik de begyndte at synge, oplevede jeg det sælsomme og nærmest lidt skræmmende at jeg ikke kunne rumme det! Jeg var lige ved at overveje at gå, eller holde mig for ørerne for ikke bogstaveligt talt at bryde sammen. Med ét gav det jeg hørte ny mening til udtryk som "ikke at kunne være i sig selv" og "ulideligt smukt", for intet beskriver det bedre, og selv om jeg er en temmelig rutineret koncertgænger og faktisk også selv musiker og korsanger, har jeg aldrig været ude for noget lignende. Når jeg nu genhører det, kan jeg godt lytte lidt mere fattet til det, men det er heller ikke muligt at genskabe sådan en oplevelse. Musikken nåede i det øjeblik ind et sted jeg næsten ikke var klar over fandtes.Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-16207689718424778732020-12-12T17:30:00.005+01:002020-12-19T01:34:22.877+01:00Den trivialiserede frihed<p>Fravalg af mundbind bliver i visse typisk stærkt højreorienterede/alternative/<wbr></wbr>konspirituelle kredse brugt som et politisk statement om frihed og afvisning af statslig indblanding og "kontrol", men det er i mine øjne en trivialisering af frihedsbegrebet som mere minder om en trodsreaktion end en forståelse af hvad begrebet frihedsrettigheder indebærer i et moderne demokrati. Det mindretal som i dag protesterer mod mundbind, er i samme kategori som dem der i sin tid kæmpede imod sikkerhedsseler i biler. Det skulle staten ikke blande sig i. Men i stedet for at stå ved at de har politiske bevæggrunde til ikke at bære mundbind, hvilket ville klæde dem, forsøger de ofte på hyklerisk vis at dække sig ind under en eller anden paragraf om at de er fritaget af sundhedsmæssige grunde. På den måde har de selv lukket luften ud af deres politiske projekt. </p>Jeg tager ikke stilling til hvor effektive mundbindene er, og ja, de er da irriterende, men det er ikke det der er pointen. Det jeg anfægter, er proportionsforvrængningen og afsporingen af debatten om frihedsrettigheder, som ganske vist er helt central, bare ikke i denne her sammenhæng. Det er også en afsporing i den forstand at det afleder opmærksomheden fra de steder i verden hvor basale menneskerettigheder vitterligt er under pres. Det er ikke for meget sagt at konspirationsteorier af den art har taget debatten om frihedsrettigheder som gidsel på samme måde som organisationen "Save the Children", der gennem de sidste 100 år har udført et livsvigtigt arbejde, er blevet taget som gidsel af QAnon-tilhængerne og deres groteske og særdeles skadelige konspirationsteorier<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">,</span> teorier som trives blandt selv velmenende om end naive folk fra new age-miljøet.<br /><br />Tilhængerne af disse teorier fremstiller sædvanligvis sig selv som kritiske og selvstændigt tænkende, hvorfor de naturligvis afviser "mainstream media" (som regel forkortet MSM) over én kam. De er alle "fake news", hvorimod deres egne kilder bliver accepteret "at face value" uden et gran af kildekritik. Hvis man sætter spørgsmålstegn ved deres fortælling, som i bund og grund er en samling myter der er sat i verden for at tilfredsstille et behov for, ja hvad, myter...? ... er man i en form for koma, mens de er de vågne, ofte konkret illustreret med hashtagget "StayAwake" på profilbilledet.<br /><br />Konspirationsteorierne og deres ofre er nutidens svar på middelalderens hekseprocesser. De tilfredsstiller samme behov for at identificere verdens ondskab og de mørkets kræfter man mener må stå bag. Og ligesom det er svært at bevise at man ikke er en heks, opererer konspirationsteoretikerne også konsekvent med omvendt bevisbyrde og ikke-falsificerbare teorier. Derfor kan det heller ikke overraske at konspirationteoretikere nærmest aldrig anvender etablerede videnskabelige metoder da falsificerbarhed er et afgørende kriterium for om en videnskabelig teori overhovedet er gyldig. Og i de få tilfælde hvor teorierne rent faktisk kan efterprøves og falsificeres, er de blevet modbevist af evidens, uanset om vi taler 9/11, chemtrails eller teorier om valgfusk i det amerikanske præsidentvalg. <br /><br />Alt det anfægter tilsyneladende ikke konspirationsteoretikeren eller den konspirituelle for her er målet tydeligvis ikke ikke at indhente større viden om verden som den rent faktisk er, men at få indpasset verden i en på forhånd fastlagt antagelse om hvordan han eller hun mener den ser ud.<br /><br />Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-2205917954855887412020-12-12T13:30:00.001+01:002020-12-15T16:20:37.123+01:00Fra det okkulte til kult<p><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Der er tilsyneladende ikke langt fra det okkulte til kult, og de absurde konspirationsteorier fra bl.a. QAnon florerer stadig, trods udelukkelse fra både Twitter og Facebook, ikke mindst i new age-kredse, det såkaldt alternative eller spirituelle miljø, måske ikke så mærkeligt da mange i den sammenhæng i forvejen arbejder med "skjulte kræfter" og generelt dyrker et mere tros- end evidensbaseret verdensbillede. På den måde blander forestillinger om højere bevidsthed, energier og dimensioner, universel kærlighed og "den nye tid" sig lystigt med teorier om at "eliten" i USA er satanister, pædofile osv., hvorimod Trump angiveligt er Guds sendebud eller "lysarbejder" som er sat her på jorden for at befri os fra disse mørkets kræfter. Og karakteristisk for disse konspirituelle er også at de som oftest abonnerer på hele pakken af konspirationsteorier lige fra 9/11 over chemtrails og 5G til QAnon. Senest har det været det amerikanske præsidentvalg der har måttet holde for. Det er med andre ord et trossystem der i lighed med andre trosretninger ikke kan modbevises da man aldrig kan bevise at der ikke en eller anden bagvedliggende højere magt eller "Deep State" der har iscenesat det hele. Det er bare ikke særlig sandsynligt, og der findes ingen evidens for det.</span></p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Det er ikke for meget sagt at store dele af det alternative/spirituelle miljø har omfavnet en politik der hører til på den yderste højrefløj, hvilket er så meget desto mere besynderligt al den stund at eksempelvis den miljøpolitik Trump-administrationen har ført, har bombet USA tilbage til tiden før 1970 når det handler om begrænsning af luftforurening og beskyttelse af sårbare naturområder eller tilladelse til anvendelse af pesticider som er forbudt i hele EU. Trump har også meldt USA ud af Paris-aftalen om begrænsning af global opvarmning, og de fleste eksperter er enige om at det ville have været umuligt at nå aftalens målsætning om en global temperaturstigning på højst to grader hvis Trump var blevet genvalgt (hvad mange alternative dog stadig tror han blev). I betragtning af den kærlighed til naturen og til økologi der også lyser ud af mange alternative eller "spirituelle" profiler, kan man dårligt konkludere andet end at der er en massiv tilstedeværelse af kognitiv dissonans i miljøet.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ret karakteristisk for de konspirituelle er også, foruden en stærk kritik af magthaverne, minus Trump, en indgroet skepsis over for, hvis ikke ligefrem afvisning af, moderne videnskab og videnskabelige metoder. Det giver sig bl.a. udslag i afvisning af vacciner eller mundbind, som igen bliver kædet sammen med konspirationsteorier af enhver art. Tingene er aldrig som de ser ud. Der er altid en bagvedliggende skummel dagsorden. Og hvis man forsigtigt foreslår at tingene rent faktisk godt af og til kan være som de ser ud eller bliver beskrevet, at en kommende COVID-vaccine er udviklet for at forebygge en alvorlig sygdom og at den hverken indeholder chips eller ændrer vores DNA, har man ikke lært at "tænke selv". Men selv de mest indædte anti-vaxxere vil vel næppe ønske sig tilbage til en tid før koppevaccinen hvor kopper alene i sidste århundrede menes at have dræbt omkring 300 millioner mennesker. Kopper er nu næsten udryddet, og det skyldes altså ikke store doser C-vitamin eller et stærkt immunforsvar, som er det mange alternativt tænkende anser for at være et tilstrækkeligt værn mod corona.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">https://nyti.ms/3hyQVds</span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">https://www.instagram.com/p/CFF2z03srQm/</span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></div>Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-60118642437633873712020-11-30T15:49:00.005+01:002020-12-15T16:22:15.207+01:00Lysforurening - og hvad der kan gøres<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lysforurening er et voksende problem. Den berøver os muligheden for at opleve nattehimlen som den faktisk ser ud når den ikke er forstyrret af kunstigt lys, og har man bare én gang set Mælkevejen og en himmel så fuld af stjerner at man ikke længere kan identificere de enkelte stjernebilleder, glemmer man det aldrig. Det er derfor et stort tab at de fleste af os ikke har mulighed for at opleve natten som den faktisk er, uden genskinnet fra byer, veje og butikscentre som slører nattehimlen, men lysforureningen gør også skade på både dyr og planter som er afhængige af nattemørket. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirudvCM9azLIm0MDL-4f76yC43DaMSMHdK0xFr06h_5CBpqrVRLQia5Onu2NahDO57ZRHkGuTFbeYL6zqmcnZ2kQ1HlJauhxARqUl1wipm21ehPzIpvAy2JfLDrVjHrzMmxrOwhAcxiZey/s1077/Sk%25C3%25A6rmbillede+2020-12-15+kl.+15.57.19+.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="1077" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirudvCM9azLIm0MDL-4f76yC43DaMSMHdK0xFr06h_5CBpqrVRLQia5Onu2NahDO57ZRHkGuTFbeYL6zqmcnZ2kQ1HlJauhxARqUl1wipm21ehPzIpvAy2JfLDrVjHrzMmxrOwhAcxiZey/s320/Sk%25C3%25A6rmbillede+2020-12-15+kl.+15.57.19+.png" width="320" /></a></div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heldigvis kan der gøres noget ved det, både i større skala, men også helt lokalt kan vi opnå meget bare ved at tænke os lidt om når vi anvender udendørs eller indendørs belysning. Hvis du bor i eget hus, så overvej for eksempel om udendørs belysning overhovedet er nødvendig, og hvis den er, så begræns den ved kun at anvende den kortvarigt og målrettet der hvor den skal bruges så den ikke strømmer ud i alle retninger og oplyser hele området. Og indendørs kan man med fordel anvende LED-pærer der afgiver et varmt lys (lav kelvin-værdi, gerne 2400) og selvfølgelig gardiner eller andet for vinduerne. Man har alligevel ikke meget glæde af at kigge på mørke ruder, og det lys der strømmer ud, bidrager i høj grad til lysforureningen.</span></p><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://lysforurening.dk/" target="_blank">https://lysforurening.dk/</a></div><br />Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-24091717040636528232019-07-11T16:47:00.003+02:002021-10-11T16:55:09.299+02:00BIEN Danmark på Folkemødet 2019<p> Videoer fra BIEN Danmarks telt på Folkemødet 2019</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLYT3tWA56-qkdmR8a8mDz9hYR7np5xK1x" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-27585200316333443072019-05-10T14:14:00.001+02:002019-05-10T14:26:18.709+02:00Andrew Yang stærk fortaler for UBI<h2>
</h2>
Den amerikanske præsidentkandidat Andrew Yang i et <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuOYA6Dhjb8" target="_blank">interview</a> med Stephanie Sy med nogle betragtninger om hvorfor en ubetinget basisindkomst - Universal Basic Income eller Freedom Dividend som han kalder det - bør indføres så hurtigt som muligt.<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="348" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EuOYA6Dhjb8" width="528"></iframe>Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-51812717059916121022016-08-05T16:53:00.015+02:002020-12-15T17:06:10.576+01:00Pilots and Policies<h3 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1em; margin: 1.2em 0px 0.3em; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Global Look at Basic Income Pilots and Policies</span></span></h3><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This is a list of previous experiments and policies with basic income with some of their results. The list is far from comprehensive and many details from the experiments are left out. Also, it is not an academic article so references are mostly left out as well, but will be provided upon request.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The article is divided into two parts. The first, Experiments with Basic Income, highlights what have been the most important basic income experiments since the 1960s and some which are being carried out now or projected for the future.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The second part, Policies including Basic Income, describes basic income policies implemented by local or national authorities and certified by law.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A word on the definition of the term “experiment”. In this context, it is used to cover both the academic and the colloquial meaning of the word. In other words, not all experiments listed here are experiments in the strictest scientific sense. They are, however, included to show the diversity of implementations of basic income.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A huge thanks to Karl Widerquist and André Coelho for many helpful suggestions to this article.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Karsten Lieberkind</em></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><h3 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1em; margin: 1.2em 0px 0.3em; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Experiments with Basic Income</span></span></h3><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">USA</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Basic income experiments or pilots can be traced back to the 1960s. In the USA, they have a prehistory in the 1960s’ civil rights movement that was largely driven by the huge difference between rich and poor that was prevalent despite the upturn in the economy at the time.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Social services and medical care to the poor were already introduced during the Kennedy administration, and, when Johnson assumed office, he addressed the same issue in his State of the Union Speech in 1964, calling for a “War on Poverty”. This policy later led to the formation of the Office of Economic Opportunity which was the agency responsible for most of the program.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In 1968, Johnson established the Commission on Income Maintenance Programs that proposed negative income tax to replace the traditional welfare measures (minimum wage, unemployment insurance funds, etc.).</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the same year, 1,200 economists, including James Tobin and Paul Samuelson, signed a document with a proposal to Congress for a guaranteed income financed by a negative income tax scheme.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Part of the proposal was taken up in 1969 by the Nixon administration in the so-called Family Assistance Plan, primarily to support families with children, whether they were working or not.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The idea had already circulated among researchers under the heading Guaranteed Annual Income (GAI), a designation Nixon, however, opposed, even though it was founded on principles laid down by his own commission. People who are able to work should do so, he said.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hence, the GAI was only thought to be targeted at families with children and with an obligation for capable breadwinners to take a job.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Family Assistance Plan was meant to operate according to negative tax principles. As it turned out, it had a majority in the House of Representatives, but was ultimately voted down in the Senate, even though some Democrats like representative William F. Ryan said the proposal didn’t go far enough:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Guaranteed Annual Income is not a privilege. It should be a right to which every American is entitled. No country as affluent as ours can allow any citizen or his family not to have an adequate diet, not to have adequate housing, not to have adequate health services and not to have adequate educational opportunity — in short, not to be able to have a life with dignity” ( William F. Ryan from a speech in the House of Representatives).</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Many Democrats also objected to the work requirement and the very low level of the guaranteed income implied by the proposal.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In 1972, senator and presidential candidate George McGovern came up with an even more radical proposal for a Guaranteed Annual Income. He spoke in favour of following a principle of individuality and also that the provision should be independent of both personal income and assets.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Still, as early as in 1968, the Johnson administration launched the first of a series of four experiments in different areas of the country with a GAI based on a negative income tax model as originally recommended by the economist and Nobel laureate Milton Friedman (described in his book Capitalism and Freedom, 1962). Friedman had suggested this model with the double advantage of both securing the poorest families an income while also increasing growth in the national budget as a result of higher general consumption. An added benefit would be a reduction in bureaucracy.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">However, concern was raised that GAI would result in a disincentive to work and perhaps lead to families splitting up.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The four experiments were conducted scientifically with randomly selected target groups and control groups in the United States and with GAI at various levels:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– New Jersey and Pennsylvania 1968-72 (city population)</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Indiana (city of Gary) (measuring the effect of GAI on single parents) 1971-74</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Iowa and North Carolina (rural population) 1969-73</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Seattle and Denver 1971-80 – largest trial – 4800 families</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The results were discussed at a conference in 1986 and later published. Here are a few of them:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gary,</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> In</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">diana</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Increased birth weight of children from poor families.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">North Carolina</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Children performed better in school.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Seattle-Denver</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– A moderate decline in paid work participation, however, even if the experimental group worked less than the control group, often both of them worked more than they did prior to the start of the experiment. The largest determining factor in whether they worked was not whether they got the NIT but the overall health of the macroeconomy. The labour market participation rate was not necessarily the most important effect. Its effect on health, school attainment and overall welfare of the recipients was more significant. People who stayed home were mostly those who took longer to find their next job if they happened to lose the one they had.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Young people worked less, but enrolled for higher education and even adults continued to educate themselves.</span><br /><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There is a statistical uncertainty because respondents do not always answer honestly about how much they work and also the pilots were local and time-limited.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A certain increase in the number of divorces, especially in Carter’s presidential period in the late 1970s. As it turned out, this was a stumbling block and led to his welfare program not being successful. In 1990, researchers found that the number of divorces was probably due to a statistical error and no subsequent studies have witnessed this effect.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By the end of the 1970s, the experiments had met with such strong Republican opposition – probably due to a somewhat exaggerated view on the effect they had on labour supply – that by 1980 they were finally terminated.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">CANADA</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Mincome experiment</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The now almost famous Mincome experiment initiated by the municipalities of Winnipeg and Dauphin, the province of Manitoba, in 1974-78. In Dauphin alone around there were about 10,000 participants.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The experiment was based on negative income tax and with a break-even point at 60 percent of the level of low-income groups.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Any earned income above the Mincome amount was offset by 50 percent, so for every dollar a person earned, the Mincome amount was reduced by 50 cents.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As with the American experiments, Mincome was originally a social experiment. Among other things, they wanted to see what influence the experiment had on work incentives, especially in Winnipeg involving only employable individuals.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In Winnipeg, the families were, like in the US experiments, randomly chosen together with control families who knew nothing of each other. This scheme offered a couple of advantages: the negative tax setting could be varied and the direct impact of the Guaranteed Annual Income could easily be assessed.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In Dauphin, all city residents were covered, and comparisons were made with nearby villages. The methods were partly quantitative and statistical and partly qualitative including personal interviews.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Only the Winnipeg experiment was analysed by the researchers at the time b</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ecause its was cancelled before completion.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Total cost of the experiments: 17 million dollars.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Canadian government believed that the experiments would eventually lead to an actual Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) along the lines of the general health insurance, but the oil crisis and a general recession led to an abandonment of the whole idea.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In 1986 and onwards, several governments tried to revive something that bore a resemblance to basic income, but in vain.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As to the Mincome experiments, there was no money to analyse the data (almost 2000 boxes of documents). And even basic income supporters were afraid to analyse them because they feared that the results would not benefit their cause.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2009, Evelyn Forget, a Canadian professor of health sciences at the University of Manitoba, got a permission to examine all the data, initially the health care data as the Canadian authorities had already made databases of them in 1974. She studied how Dauphin had developed compared to other cities in the same area. The results were published in 2011 and a few of them are presented here.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Primary results of the Mincome experiments:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– 8.5 percent fewer hospital visits, especially related to mental disorders, but also physical injuries.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– More young people attending high school because of not being forced to work at an early age. In general, the participants didn’t work less, only mothers with small children stopped working.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– UBI was used as a stepping-stone for a better job.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Improvement in the opportunities to pursue education without the benefit being deducted.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Also, participants who didn’t directly benefit from the scheme (people with good income or savings), regarded it favourably as an insurance scheme.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The results were so good that the Canadian government is again considering the implementation of a basic income scheme, simply because it will save money in the health sector and elsewhere.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The conservative former senator Hugh Segal has recently spoken out in favour of bringing together all social services in UBI.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ontario</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Following the election of the liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the country has witnessed a surge of interest in carrying out experiments with basic income and the government of Ontario is at the forefront of this new wave. In their Budget 2016 Statement, they said that:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One area of research that will inform the path to comprehensive reform will be the evaluation of a Basic Income pilot.The pilot project will test a growing view at home and abroad that a basic income could build on the success of minimum wage policies and increases in child benefits by providing more consistent and predictable support in the context of today’s dynamic labour market. The pilot would also test whether a basic income would provide a more efficient way of delivering income support, strengthen the attachment to the labour force, and achieve savings in other areas, such as health care and housing supports. The government will work with communities, researchers and other stakeholders in 2016 to determine how best to design and implement a Basic Income pilot.</em></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NAMIBIA</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A Basic Income Grant (BIG) project from 2007 to 2009 in which everyone under 60 years of age in a particular province (Otjivero-Omitara) received N$100 / month (approx. 6 euros). People over 60 years already received a state pension and were therefore not included in the project. </span>It was conducted by the Namibian Basic Income Coalition and covered around 6000 people.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The results were similar to those obtained in the Madhya Pradesh basic income pilot.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The idea has been taken up again by the Minister for Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, </span><a href="http://www.basicincome.org/news/2015/10/namibia-basic-income-grant-back-on-national-agenda/" style="border: 0px; color: #004488; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Zephania Kameeta</a><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, a long-time proponent of basic income. Meetings have been held with representatives from all regions of Namibia for the eradication of poverty and a fairer distribution policy.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">INDIA</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A pilot project on a very large scale has been conducted in the state of Madhya Pradesh, 2010 – 2013, led by the labour union </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_Employed_Women%27s_Association" style="border: 0px; color: #004488; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Self-Employed Women’s Association</a><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> (SEWA) and funded by UNICEF. Guy Standing, research professor at the </span><a href="http://www.soas.ac.uk/" style="border: 0px; color: #004488; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">School of Oriental and African Studies</a><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> (SOAS), University of London, has functioned as its scientific leader and advisor.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A few keywords to describe the pilot:</span></p><ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: inside square; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em 2em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Duration: 18 months</span></li><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6,000 individuals receiving cash transfers</span></li><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8 UBI villages</span></li><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">12 control villages</span></li><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 tribal village</span></li><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 tribal control village</li><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Unconditional Cash Transfer – monthly</span></li><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Randomized study (Randomised Control Methodology)</span></li><li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One half of the villages were active SEWA villages</span></li></ul><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The cash grant was:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Universal, that is, for everyone, with children getting 50% of the grant given to adults, and the amount could be used freely. Often allowances targeted at the poor are administratively costly and prone to error.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Unconditional – earmarked funds or other conditions are inefficient and lead to corruption</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Individual – personal autonomy, especially for women and the elderly</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– The amount was fixed at between 20 and 30% of the income of families in the lower-income scales</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A few of the observed results from the experiment in headlines:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Improvements in housing and sanitation</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– The overall nutritional condition improved, especially for young girls</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– There was enough money for food, and the diet became more varied, with more fruits and vegetables</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Money was not spent on tobacco, alcohol, etc.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– The participants experienced fewer diseases</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– The participants bought more or higher quality medicine</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Health insurances were signed and private hospitals were visited more frequently</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Disabled people were included as an active part of society</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Increased and more regular schooling</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– The students got higher scores</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– More children were sent to private schools as a result of the pilot</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Work outside school hours had less influence on learning</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– People worked more, earned more and were more productive</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– There was a transition from paid employment to self-employment and entrepreneurship</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Some participants invested in machinery, livestock and seed corn.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– A number of participants got out of debt and were able to save more.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The villages receiving UBI and associated with SEWA fared best of all. The results show that the emancipation and empowerment of women is important.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BRAZIL</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Quatinga Velho</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A local UBI-based donor-funded project, organized by </span><a href="http://www.recivitas.org/" style="border: 0px; color: #004488; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ReCivitas</a><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, has been established in Quatinga Velho, a small and poor community near Sao Paulo.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ReCivitas was founded in 2006 and is led by Bruna Augusto Pereira and Marcus Vinicius Brancaglione. They are convinced of the value of UBI and don’t want to leave it to words, but rather implement it directly and locally: “The basic income model should be consistent with the libertarian spirit and should be formulated not as aid but as a universal human right to social security”.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The implementation trial has led to improvements in health and nutrition, housing, etc., but most importantly also to a sense of self-esteem and confidence in the future.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Maricá</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As of December 2015, the 150,000 inhabitants of Maricá, near Rio de Janeiro, receive a small monthly UBI paid in a digital local currency called Mumbuca, to stimulate already existing solidarity initiatives like cooperatives of landless peasants and sales of products to Madhya Pradesh, the state in India that already saw the implementation of a UBI pilot project.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The project is partly financed by oil revenues off the coast and a Factory of Recycled Material, also a source of funding for a basic income.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The local currency, which can only be used for specific purposes, is designed to prevent the kind of abuse that has occasionally occurred in the Bolsa Família project.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Micro-loans with low interest rates to entrepreneurs and business owners have also been introduced.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">All of this has led to greater consumption, jobs and economic growth in the community.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Eduardo Suplicy believes it can pave the way for a UBI throughout Brazil and has proposed to the current president Dilma Rousseff the formation of a working group of scientists to investigate the matter.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">UGANDA</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In a recent </span><a href="http://www.basicincome.org/news/2013/08/important-study-finds-that-giving-money-without-conditions-to-the-poor-increases-both-employment-and-wages/" style="border: 0px; color: #004488; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">experiment</a><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, randomly selected vulnerable (poor and unemployed) youth received a cash lump sum of $400 (equivalent to their normal annual income) for training and entrepreneurship. They invested the money in tools and materials, but also to learn a trade.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">After four years, one half of the participant had learned a skill and there was a 57 percent increase in investments, 17 percent in working hours and a 38 percent increase in income compared to the control group. The change was most significant among women because they were poorer to begin with. No antisocial behaviour was detected.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One and perhaps overlooked reason for this change in behaviour is likely surplus energy and an increased sense of well-being – physical as well as mental. People without resources do not have the energy to pursue education or look for other work opportunities.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The experiment was part of a new policy called <a href="https://www.givedirectly.org/" style="border: 0px; color: #004488; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">GiveDirectly</a> based on direct cash transfer. To quote from the initiative’s homepage: </span><i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">GiveDirectly is driving a re-evaluation of the assumptions underlying international philanthropy with a provocative model: we deliver donations directly to the extreme poor and let them decide what to do with them.</i><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The experiment was a side project to test whether the method was working.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The same charity is now moving closer to an actual UBI model. They are going to implement UBI on a fairly large scale in Uganda.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ENGLAND</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2009, an experiment took place among homeless people in London. 15 homeless men received 3000 pounds in cash each with no strings attached. Within one year, 11 of them had a shelter, were in education or in treatment for addiction. No one spent the money unwisely.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">GERMANY</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2014, an IT professional, Michael Bohmeyer from Berlin, got the idea of crowdfunding one year’s supply of basic income of 1000 euros per month for one person. Lots are drawn to find the lucky winner and anyone can participate in the lottery for free so as to remain in the spirit of it being “unconditional”. The project is called </span><a href="https://www.mein-grundeinkommen.de/" style="border: 0px; color: #004488; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mein Grundeinkommen</a><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, and enough money has already been collected for quite a few of people to receive basic income for one year.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Inspired by this experiment, <a href="http://mybasicincome.org/" style="border: 0px; color: #004488; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a similar one</a> was launched in November 2015 in USA, coached by Michael Bohmeyer. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">FINLAND</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Finnish government plans to launch a basic income pilot as one element in a number of social experiments to be carried out for two years from the beginning of 2017. A consortium has been formed consisting of universities, think tanks, municipalities and social institutions to explore various models for the implementation of a basic income. The consortium is led by the Finnish Social Insurance Institution Kela which will present its recommendations to the government in November 2016. A preliminary report has already been published.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The models under consideration are 1) a full basic income of 1000-1500 euros a month, replacing all benefits, including insurance-based ones 2) a partial basic income, replacing all but the insurance-based benefits, of about 550 euros a month, or at the level of the present minimum benefits, 3) a negative income tax model, 4) other models like, for instance, a participation model.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The experiments will be targeted at a sample population of at least 5000 households (rather that individuals), randomly selected from the entire population and with control groups. Also more regional experiments will be carried out in order to view typical local effects like networking.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The basic income proposal enjoys pretty strong support from the Finnish population. According to a survey (2015), 69 percent support the idea of a basic income of at least 1000 euros a month. Also, most major parties are supporting the initiative. Prime minister Juha Sipilä says that the experiments are designed to reveal whether a basic income will make the system more participatory, strengthen work incentives, e.g. by reducing income traps, and reduce bureaucracy in the social security system, while also being financially sustainable.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The long-term goal is a reduction of unemployment, and it is expected that unemployed with a basic income can afford, and will, take a job at a lower wage. There is currently a nine percent unemployment in Finland.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kela believes that significant savings can be expected through the integration of previous benefits.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It is, however, also very expensive. A nation-wide basic income implementation is calculated to cost around 52 billion euros out of a budget surplus of 49 billion.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It may also fall hard on those who rely on allowances that may disappear, like, for instance, housing or special needs.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It will remove some of the stigma of unemployed, though, according to Kela.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">THE NETHERLANDS</strong></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs has called on cities that are interested in basic income to come up with a plan.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">30 Dutch municipalities have shown interest for a study of basic income, especially Utrecht, Tilburg, Wageningen, Nijmegen and Groningen which have already come up with various drafts. </span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This interest is motivated by the fact that the current benefit system of workfare, while being humiliating for the recipients, is also very expensive, so new ways are sought to eliminate both the obligation to work and sanctions for not living up to this obligation.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In Utrecht, several different models will be tested, beginning in January 2017, targeted at those who are already receiving benefits. The recipients will be divided into five groups.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One group will receive benefits with no strings attached while another will receive a bonus for doing volunteering work, and yet another will lose it if it fails to do so. There will also be a group receiving UBI while being allowed to take a job and earn a little extra on top of it. A control group will follow the </span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">standard procedure for benefits including workfare, control, sanctions, etc.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The experime</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">nts are a result of years of prior grassroots work, but have so far mostly aroused interest from professional social workers and academics.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><h3 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1em; margin: 1.2em 0px 0.3em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;">Policies including Basic Income</span></span></h3><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">USA</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Alaska</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The state has since 1976 paid out an annual dividend of its oil revenues and other natural resources to all permanent residents from the so-called Alaska Permanent Fund. The dividend is called </span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the Permanent Fund Dividend and the</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> amount varies between $800-2000 a year per citizen.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Cherokee tribe</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2001, a Cherokee tribe in North Carolina introduced an Unconditional Basic Income that was handed out to all tribal members in the area.</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> It was </span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">funded by the revenue from a casino run by the Cherokees themselves. The </span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">annual dividend was modest to begin but is today more than $10,000 per person.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Among the findings:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– A forty percent decline in the number of children with behavioral disorders due to poverty</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– A decrease in reported legal offenses</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Young people seeking better education</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– A decrease in the number of drug addicts</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– Significant budget savings</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BRAZIL</b></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Former senator Eduardo Suplicy, Ph.D. in Economics, co-founder of the Brazilian Workers’ Party, has been the driving force in having Brazil be the first country in the world to introduce a social welfare program targeting poor families and including both direct cash and conditional transfers.This happened in 2004.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The program is called </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolsa_Fam%C3%ADlia" style="border: 0px; color: #004488; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bolsa Família</a><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, or family allowance.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Suplicy’s original intention with this constitutional requirement was actually an unconditional basic income, whenever funds would have been available, but he didn’t succeed in getting enough support for this motion.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bolsa Família was at the very core of Lula da Silva’s social policy and perhaps crucial to his being elected president.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The program has received worldwide recognition, even from the World Bank, but also some criticism from people believing that the money may not be used wisely or could lead to laziness.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Tahoma; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It could, however, also have the opposite effect in that a safety net would allow people to take higher risks and perhaps start their own business.</span></p>Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-65298293629363770912014-05-02T13:37:00.000+02:002014-05-02T13:42:19.685+02:00"Andre problemer" som selvopfyldende profeti<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">
Det er, som man ofte siger, på samme måde som at der skal et godt helbred til at være indlagt på et hospital. Tilsvarende skal man være overordentlig ressourcestærk for overleve økonomisk og ikke mindst menneskeligt hvis man bliver "parkeret" på en overførselsindkomst. Dog af helt andre årsager end den officielle myte vil have os til at tro.</div>
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Den officielle forklaring er at problemet er den såkaldte arbejdsløshed, hvor det i virkeligheden snarere er den paradigmatiske tænkning eller normerne for hvad der gør en til en rigtig og deltagende samfundsborger der er årsagen til de "andre problemer" (end økonomiske) arbejdsløse og kontanthjælpsmodtagere oplever. Det er således hvad man kunne kalde en selvopfyldende profeti at mennesker, som er blevet "arbejdsløse", hurtigt mister selvrespekt og får personlige eller sociale problemer.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">En "selvopfyldende profeti" defineres ifølge Den Store Danske således: "Det fænomen, at alene en udbredt forventning til et hændelsesforløb kan fremkalde dette hændelsesforløb, også selvom forventningen er baseret på en falsk opfattelse af virkeligheden."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><br /></span>Jeg vil hævde at det ikke er lønarbejdsløsheden som sådan der er problemet endsige årsagen til at mennesker føler sig stigmatiserede og sat udenfor og siden får alvorlige fysiske og psykiske problemer, men derimod hele fortællingen om at lønarbejdet sætter normen for at kunne være et fuldbyrdigt medlem af samfundet.<br />
Hvis man et øjeblik forestillede sig et utopia hvor der ikke længere fandtes arbejdsløse fordi lønarbejdet var ophørt med at eksistere som norm. Det kunne være et samfund med Ubetinget Basisindkomst hvor forskellen på ulønnet og lønnet deltagelse i samfundets opgaver var blevet udvisket fordi UBI havde ført til en opblomstring af det såkaldte frivillige arbejde samtidig med at lønarbejdets monopolstatus var blevet svækket eller måske endda et samfund hvor lønarbejdet helt havde overflødiggjort sig selv.</div>
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Uanset hvad, i et sådant utopia vil den selvopfyldende profeti ikke længere få næring fordi den falske virkelighedsopfattelse om at man bliver samfundsborger gennem sit lønarbejde er afløst af en anden hvor ethvert menneske betragtes som en ressource og en værdi i sig selv og som fødselsret derfor også har ret til et eksistensgrundlag, en indkomst der er til at leve af.</div>
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Det er mit gæt at i et sådant samfund vil antallet af mennesker "med andre problemer" falde drastisk fordi disse mennesker på forhånd og uanset hvad er inkluderede i samfundet. Inklusion er vejen til selvrespekt, og selvrespekt er fundamentet for et godt liv.</div>
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Vi ved hvor meget anerkendelse betyder på arbejdsmarkedet. Men mon ikke anerkendelse er vigtig for alle mennesker, uanset hvor de befinder sig i tilværelsen? Vi har mulighed for at indrette samfundet så den anerkendelse er en slags startkapital for alle som fødes ind i det og ikke som nu hvor alt kan tages fra dig inklusive din sidste rest af værdighed.</div>
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Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-34367110824213163112013-10-30T11:18:00.000+01:002013-10-30T14:04:48.956+01:00Uffe Elbæk om basisindkomstUffe Elbæk har i et opslag på Facebook tilkendegivet i hvert fald en vis sympati for idéen om en ubetinget basisindkomst. Han citerer fra BIEN Danmarks hjemmeside en række argumenter for forslaget og henviser også til en vigtig begivenhed i nærmeste fremtid, seminaret med Philippe Van Parijs, som finder sted d. 1.-2. november i København. Nærmere information om seminaret <a href="http://www.cep.polsci.ku.dk/lecture_with_phillipe_van_parisj/" target="_blank">her</a> og <a href="http://www.dfi.dk/Filmhuset/Cinemateket/Billetter-og-program/Serie.aspx?serieID=9259" target="_blank">her</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=569499959787806&id=235501083187697">Opslag</a> af <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Uffe-Elb%C3%A6k/235501083187697">Uffe Elbæk</a>.</div>
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Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-34608486663487325652013-10-28T11:39:00.000+01:002013-12-04T01:12:56.968+01:00Film og symposium om basisindkomst i Cinemateket<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqW7ENDnlkCN4JlkfIPD4mW7SNaV6YAmSKJclR8_trHbeAUbKDMfhl0rOLIrsk0ihqv9gNEqYsRQ-d5qlP5Gx0xwlIlabiLuSUR4kInAhrgtclmeZvPUnjGt1ihX8l5XaGkVL7fO1841SF/s1600/vparijs2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqW7ENDnlkCN4JlkfIPD4mW7SNaV6YAmSKJclR8_trHbeAUbKDMfhl0rOLIrsk0ihqv9gNEqYsRQ-d5qlP5Gx0xwlIlabiLuSUR4kInAhrgtclmeZvPUnjGt1ihX8l5XaGkVL7fO1841SF/s320/vparijs2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lørdag den 2. november kl. 12.15-16.00 er der fokus på konceptet basisindkomst arrangeret af Cinemateket, BIEN Danmark og Institut for Statskundskab, Aarhus Universitet.</span></div>
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"En indkomst er som luft under vingerne." Disse ord indleder dagens film og anslår dens gennemgående tema, at reel frihed bygger på et fundament af reel økonomisk tryghed. Kunne man forestille sig, at det blev en menneskeret med en sådan grundtryghed i form af en ubetinget basisindkomst?<br />
Dagens hovedgæst er den belgiske filosof og samfundsforsker Philippe Van Parijs, der er en grundlæggerne af Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), og som har skrevet et af hovedværkerne i den politisk filosofiske litteratur om basisindkomst, ”Real Freedom for All” (1995). Van Parijs mener, at det ikke er nok at interessere sig for den negative frihed, friheden fra tvang og undertrykkelse. For at friheden kan blive reel, må mennesker have materielle ressourcer. Derfor bør staten yde alle borgere i samfundet en ubetinget basisindkomst (UBI) uden krav om modydelse f.eks. I form af arbejde for at sikre reel frihed for alle, en form for positiv frihed.<br />
Kl. 12.15 er der velkomst og præsentation af det europæiske borgerinitiativ til basisindkomst ved Erik Christensen, BIEN (Basic Income Earth Network) Danmark. Herefter introducerer Philippe Van Parijs, professor i filosofi og politisk økonomi ved Université catholique de Louvain i Belgien, det filmiske essay 'Basisindkomst - en kulturel bevægelse' ('Grundeinkommen – ein Kulturimpuls') af Daniel Häni og Enno Schmidt. Filmen vises med danske undertekster.<br />
Kl. 14.15 er der filosofisk symposium i Asta Bar under overskriften: Basic Income and Social Justice. Philippe Van Parijs har som opponenter Robert van der Veen, Adjungeret professor ved Institut for Statskundskab, Aarhus Universitet, og Søren Midtgaard, lektor ved Institut for Statskundskab, Aarhus Universitet. Moderator: Erik Christensen, BIEN Danmark.<br />
OM BIEN<br />
Borgerlønsbevægelsen er en tværpolitisk bevægelse, som arbejder for indførelse af basisindkomst/borgerløn i Danmark (læs mere på basisindkomst.dk). Den kalder sig også BIEN Danmark, idet den er medlem af det verdensomspændende netværk <a href="http://www.basicincome.org/bien/" target="_blank">Basic Income Earth Network </a>(BIEN) , der er en sammenslutning af forskere og sociale bevægelser, der arbejder for gennemførelsen af en ubetinget basisindkomst.<br />
Arrangeret i samarbejde med Institut for Statskundskab, Aarhus Universitet.<br />
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Billetbestilling <a href="http://www.dfi.dk/Filmhuset/Cinemateket/Billetter-og-program/Serie.aspx?serieID=9259" target="_blank">her</a><br />
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Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-18265944883191274792013-10-28T11:28:00.000+01:002013-10-30T14:04:48.953+01:00Seminar med Philippe Van Parijs på CEP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Professor Philippe Van Parijs from the Université catholique de Louvain is visiting the Centre for European Politics on the 1. November 2013. Here he will give the lecture: "<strong>No Euro-zone without a EU-dividend</strong>".</div>
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Philippe Van Parijs' point of view is that if the EU is to survive in the future it is necessary to create transnational transaction mechanisms within the EU. However, in the present time it is difficult to imagine that the nation states will hand over the right to impose taxes and the right to distribute transfer payments to the EU authorities. It is not realistic to imagine the creation of an entire new bureaucratic machine which can harmonize the different types of European welfare states. </div>
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Professor Van Parijs suggests that it is more realistic to imagine the creation of a EU-dividend which can pay the EU citizens unconditionally. A EU-dividend would be fairly easy to create and manage. However, first and foremost it would be possible to finance the EU-dividend through value added taxes (VAT) where a percentage of the VAT from every member state was transferred to the EU to finance the EU-dividend. The EU-dividend would thus replace the present systems of discounts on taxation and transfers. Also it would create a common minimum level of income. A common minimum level of income could be the starting point of a common base level of income high enough to prevent poverty and make it possible for all citizens to take an active part in society.</div>
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There is thus a lot of benefits with a EU-dividend. It would be an important solidary stabilisation mechanism for the entire Euro zone. Also it would be a simple, transparent and an unbureaucratic transfer mechanism and it would imply that all EU citizens would gain a direct relation and interest in the EU institutions.</div>
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Following Professor Van Parijs' lecture there will be a debate with Professor Ben Rosamond (CEP), Professor Emeritus Niels I, Meyer (DTU) and freelance journalist Kenneth Haar.</div>
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<strong>Time:</strong> 2-4pm, 1. November 2013</div>
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<strong>Venue:</strong> Room 35.01.06., Building 35, CSS, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5.</div>
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<strong>Registration:</strong> The lecture is open to all, but registration is necessary. <a href="http://www.cep.polsci.ku.dk/formularer/lecture_with_phillipe_van_parisj/" style="color: #3d239c; text-decoration: none;" title="Registration (English)">You can follow through to registration here</a>.</div>
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<strong>Language:</strong> The lecture and debate will be held in English.</div>
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Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-56017050509364291582013-08-20T20:31:00.001+02:002013-10-30T14:04:48.964+01:00Schweizerne skal stemme om borgerløn!<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,0,0,0" width="475" height="77" id="srembeddedplayer" align="middle"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false" /><param name="movie" value="http://sverigesradio.se/api/flash/player_embed.swf?8" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="flashvars" value="playlist=http%3a%2f%2fsverigesradio.se%2fapi%2fradio%2fradio.aspx%3ftype%3ddb%26id%3d4665787%26codingformat%3d.m4a%26metafile%3dasx%26preview%3ddb%26isembedplayer%3dtrue&flashSmal=true" /><object name="flash" data="http://sverigesradio.se/api/flash/player_embed.swf?8" width="475" height="77" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false" /><param name="movie" value="http://sverigesradio.se/api/flash/player_embed.swf?8" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="flashvars" value="playlist=http%3a%2f%2fsverigesradio.se%2fapi%2fradio%2fradio.aspx%3ftype%3ddb%26id%3d4665787%26codingformat%3d.m4a%26metafile%3dasx%26preview%3ddb%26isembedplayer%3dtrue&flashSmal=true" /><param name="pluginurl" value="http://get.adobe.com/se/flashplayer/" /><a href="http://sverigesradio.se/topsy/ljudfil/4665787.m4a">Lyssna: Flera initiativ har tagits för folkomröstning om medborgarlön</a></object></object>Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-90287112840501187652013-06-27T14:48:00.001+02:002013-10-30T14:04:48.972+01:00ArbejdsparadigmetFin artikel i <a href="http://gu.com/p/38y3j">The Guardian</a> om det paradoksale ved at vi arbejder som aldrig før, selv om maskiner og robotter har overtaget så stor en del af tidligere tiders slid og slæb.Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-4705574057615119882013-03-25T12:23:00.002+01:002013-03-25T13:23:44.597+01:00Noget for noget eller noget for intet?<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Borgerløn, basisindkomst, eller hvad vi ellers vælger at kalde det, et tværpolitisk projekt. Der er lige så gode grunde til at gå ind for borgerløn, hvis man er borgerlig-liberal, som hvis man er socialistisk indstillet. Der vil måske bare være forskelle i den konkrete udformning af forslaget. En anden ting, der heller ikke er uvæsentlig at påpege er, at det en løsning for alle, hvad enten man er i ordinært job, er selvstændig eller står uden for arbejdsmarkedet. Alle vil have gavn af det, fordi basisindkomst rummer både fleksibilitet og tryghed. Det er den ultimative frihed, så vidt samfundet kan tilbyde den. Den indre ufrihed må vi stadig slås med. Og det er den ultimative tryghed, igen, det er kun rammerne, resten er et livslangt projekt. Ordet eksistensangst er tvetydigt, og vi kan kun lindre den ene del, men det er vi til gengæld som samfund også forpligtet på. Det er det, der menes med solidaritet. Ægte solidaritet er ikke et noget for noget, men et noget for intet.</span>Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-77861379070345980392013-03-24T12:26:00.000+01:002013-03-27T21:23:03.132+01:00Ubetinget basisindkomst - forklaret på tre minutter<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="248" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lqXXO0GGNRI" width="448"></iframe>Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-852456846495476292013-03-20T13:33:00.000+01:002013-03-25T13:35:08.269+01:00Nyttejob - Newspeak?Seneste berigelse til Newspeak-ordbogen må vel være 'nyttejob'. For som hos salige Orwell er der vendt en smule op og ned på tingene, men naturligvis, som altid, i den gode sags tjeneste. Her er det ikke Propagandaministeriet, der bliver til Ministeriet for Sandhed, men job, der egentlig ikke er brug for, som bliver nyttejob, for hvis der var brug for dem, havde man vel for længst ansat folk til dem på helt normale betingelser. Altså må det være unyttige job og at regne for beskæftigelsesterapi eller bodsøvelser for de eskkommunikerede, mens de for de initierede, den sande menighed, som varetager de i egentligste forstand nyttige job, der ganske vist bare kaldes job, kan tjene til skræk og advarsel.Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-50763712753537092112013-03-11T15:11:00.000+01:002013-03-25T13:23:44.598+01:00En borgerlønsdebat?I dagens <a href="http://podcast.dr.dk/P1/p1debat/2013/p1debat_1303111220.mp3" target="_blank">P1 Debat</a> kommer to af deltagerne, Thomas Blachman, musiker og X Factor-dommer, og Dennis Kristensen, formand for FOA, så tæt på at udvikle en idé om borgerløn at man kan undre sig over at de ikke tager skridtet fuldt ud.<br />
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Dennis Kristensen siger noget i retning af: 'Vi har da organiseret os underligt, altså ved at vi enten skal betale for at folk holder sig væk eller at de er på fuld tid'. Og han afslutter med at sige at det afgørende for ham og hans medlemmer er om man kan 'forsørge sig og sine' (et citat fra Grundloven). Det lyder faktisk som om han mener at det er ligegyldigt hvor pengene kommer fra, så længe folk har nok, med andre ord, det vil være i orden at fordele arbejdet, så alle arbejder mindre, men med en kompensation fra staten, og den kunne sagtens være i form af borgerløn.<br />
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Flere andre af hans udtalelser er ligefrem snublende nær en fuldt udviklet plan om borgerløn, og han tager endda selv ordet i sin mund. Løseligt citeret anvender han udtryk som at 'det er en forudsætning at vi får en mere ligelig indkomstfordeling' og 'den grundlæggende eksistens skal være på plads', vi er 'arbejdsfikserede, og det levner ikke plads for kreativitet osv.', og endelig at 'vi bliver nødt til at tænke noget der ligner halvvejs borgerløn ind i det'.<br />
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Blachman er ligeledes på sporet af borgerløn, uden dog at ville sige det eksplicit. Der er ikke som sådan noget epokegørende i Blachmans udtalelser. Han er et levende eksempel på at en taler kan brænde igennem, ikke så meget ved det originale i budskabet, som ved den form det leveres i. Hans form er en slags 'stream of consciousness' der af til glimrer ved et par fine formuleringer og andre gange bliver til rent nonsens. Jeg har gjort mig den ulejlighed at transkribere et par højdepunkter i hans udtalelser, og som man kan se, er hans hovedbudskab ikke som sådan en firedages arbejdsuge, men at folk får tid til at være mere kreative, være noget for hinanden og mærke sig selv. Det er der mange andre der har sagt, men det er selvfølgelig godt at han siger det. Firedages arbejdsugen løser naturligvis ikke noget i sig selv, for så var folk allerede blevet mere visionære og alt det han efterlyser da vi gik fra en seks- til en femdages arbejdsuge. Her er et uddrag i direkte transkription:<br />
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<i>Den dag du ikke arbejder, skal du alligevel betale halvdelen af din løn i skat, så må der være en form for statskompensation (red.: det kunne være et andet ord for borgerløn), idet man opfinder en form for statsgaranteret fridag til individet, så individet kan gå ud og lade sig inspirere og inspirere sin kone og sine børn, så vi ikke skal købe udefra kommende luksus, men kan få en egen dialog, der genererer et menneske, der bliver til et menneske, fordi vi får tid til at være et menneske....al den understøttelse, der ikke skal udbetales, de følgesygdomme af stress og meningstab osv. osv., det er en kæmpe besparelse, men det vigtigste er: Vi skaber verdens mest visionære samfund....og den knap der forløser det vildeste samfund, det solidariske samfund, Socialdemokratiet version 2, men det kræver hjerne, det kræver en helt speciel form for visionær tænkning. Vi er gået til grunde i en højtuddannet visionsløshed, jeg kæmper for den ufaglærte sandhed, elektrikeren nede på hjørnet, der kan sense tiden...</i></div>
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Som man kan se, der er mening i galskaben, selv om udtalelser som 'jeg kæmper for den ufaglærte sandhed, elektrikeren nede på hjørnet' dybest set er noget sludder, for elektrikeren er faglært, og folk bliver i øvrigt nok ikke bedre til at sense tiden ved at være ufaglærte, det er i hvert fald ikke min erfaring, men det han mener er selvfølgelig at den iboende sensitivitet som ethvert menneske ejer, men som drukner i stress og meningstab pga. en forskruet samfundsindretning, den kan få plads hvis vi indretter os anderledes, naturligvis ikke kun ved at fjerne en arbejdsdag, men ved en mere grundlæggende reform. En sådan reform kunne meget vel være en ubetinget basisindkomst eller borgerløn.</div>
Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-62318269469494566982013-01-18T09:46:00.001+01:002013-01-19T00:04:59.421+01:00Den befriende forargelseDet siges, at der ikke er noget mere styrkende for sjæl og legeme end en gedigen forargelse. Hvis man skal tro det, må den danske befolkning være ved fortræffeligt helbred, for den ene forargelse synes at overtage den anden i en lind strøm, godt hjulpet på vej af en samvittighedsfuld dagspresse. Gang på gang bliver de danske sind sat i det mest frydefulde og boblende kog, som gør godt ud i alle lemmer.<br />
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En god forargelse kræver dog som minimum en værdig sag, helst et rigtig modbydeligt objekt, som den retfærdige harme kan skylle ned over. Derfor er det så fantastisk, at vi aldrig løber tør for forargelige individer, det være sig kontanthjælpsmodtagere, arbejdsløse eller senest sociale bedragere. Hvor frastødende de end er, ville det dog være langt værre, om de ikke fandtes, for hvor skulle forargelsen med alle dens fortræffelige egenskaber så søge hen? En hjemløs forargelse, måske endda en forargelse, som vender blikket indad, er en uhyggelig tanke, da det kunne lede til både udmarvende selvransagelse og måske endda neuroser og livskriser.<br />
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Derfor, da danskernes velbefindende ligger mig meget på sinde - jeg er også selv dansker - vil jeg foreslå, at man indfører det mest forargelige af alle systemer. Det er et system, som med sikkerhed ville blive lagt for had fra dag ét, da det vil ophøje hele idéen om at få noget for ingenting til lov, og det vil således sikre forargelsen på et helt andet niveau end den nuværende lappeløsning, hvor det trods alt kun er en begrænset del af befolkningen, som er arbejdsløse eller sociale bedragere. Med det system, jeg foreslår indført, vil alle borgere kunne gøres til genstand for forargelse, en noget nær ideel situation må man sige, hvis man ser bort fra, at forargelsen også rammer en selv.<br />
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Dette forkætrede system går under navnet borgerløn, en ubetinget og universel grundydelse eller basisindkomst til alle borgere i samfundet, uden noget som helst krav om modydelse og endda uden modregning, hvis man tjener noget ved siden af. Det er da forargeligt! Jeg tror faktisk, det vil kunne holde forargelsen i live et godt stykke tid, og det har derfor min varmeste anbefaling.Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-3575351618254391892012-11-06T20:12:00.004+01:002021-03-28T14:27:56.544+02:00Grundeinkommen - med mine danske undertekster<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ExRs75isitw" width="320" youtube-src-id="ExRs75isitw"></iframe></div><br />Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-22252139062046241132012-11-06T00:49:00.000+01:002013-03-25T13:23:44.594+01:00Bruder David om basisindkomst<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">"Udfør ethvert hverv som om du havde 1000 år tilbage at færdiggøre det i, men samtidig som om du allerede skulle dø i dag".</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Bruder David (David Steindl-Rast) taler i det her interview bl.a. om, at vi skal spørge os selv, hvad der i løbet af en dag får os til at føle os mest levende. Det er det rum vi skal være i, og når vi er der, er den spontane følelse, der opstår, taknemmelighed, og netop det er døren til både spiritualitet og et lykkeligere liv. </span><br />
virkeligheden er dette blot en maske, en persona, hvorimod kernen i os, er vores "selv", der manifesterer sig som en følelse eller forståelse af forbundethed med
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Han afviser enhver forestilling om, at vi er isolerede, "self-made", individer - jeg-eksistenser - som i evig konkurrence med hinanden - og i frygt for ikke at have nok til os selv - gestalter vores tilværelse mere eller mindre uafhængigt af andre. Iandre levende væsener. Jeg'et er bundet til tiden - fortiden eller fremtiden - og lever derfor i konstant uvished om sin egen eksistens. Selvet lever til gengæld i nuet og har altid 'nok'. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Ifølge Bruder David, og her citerer han Augustin, er alt i livet en nådegave, og hvis man ser det i det lys, og i forståelse af, at vi er vores selv og ikke vores ego, men forbundet, giver ubetinget basisindkomst utrolig god mening. Det er det økonomiske svar på en eksistentiel erkendelse af, at vi er vævet ind i hinandens liv, og at ingen har gjort sig "fortjent" til det, de ejer. Det er den samfundsmæssige afspejling af en spirituel virkelighed, hvis essens er udmyghed.</span><br />
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Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3968586438974213969.post-85888120595133784962012-09-25T17:40:00.001+02:002012-11-06T20:14:12.373+01:00Tungmetaller i drikkevandet<span style="font-family: arial;">I Danmark er vi normalt ret stolte over vores rene drikkevand, og i modsætning til mange andre lande kan vi drikke vandet direkte fra hanen. Med mellemrum konstateres ganske vist ved kontrolmålinger overskridelser af grænseværdier for pesticider og mikroorganismer, navnlig legionella og colibakterier, og vandboringer må lukkes eller forbrugerne bliver bedt om at koge vandet eller hente det andre steder, men generelt kan man stole på at det vand der kommer ud af hanen er godt og rent - eller kan man?</span><br />
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Et er jo at vandet er rent når det forlader vandværket, men hvordan ser det ud, og især hvordan måler det, når det har været gennem et langt rørsystem med materialer som PVC og et utal af forskellige metallegeringer? Hvad afgiver disse materialer til vandet af stoffer som ikke er til gavn for eller måske ligefrem til skade for vores helbred?</div>
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Der findes flere videnskabelige undersøgelser af emnet, og jeg vil her især fremhæve tre rapporter om metalafgivelse til drikkevandet udarbejdet af Force Technology i samarbejde med Miljøstyrelsen. Disse rapporter er kommet i perioden <a href="tel:2001%20-%202006" target="_blank" value="+4520012006">2001 - 2006</a> og bygger på forsøgsopstillinger med forskellige typer af metaller og legeringer, som anvendes i dag, og med vand fra en række vandværker med varierende sammensætning, især mht. hårdhed. Rapporterne er meget detaljerede, men den overordnede konklusion er at flere legeringer i mange tilfælde afgiver metaller til vandet, navnlig det problematiske bly og nikkel, i så store mængder at det langt overskrider grænseværdierne. Når vi taler rør, er der desværre ikke meget man kan gøre ved det andet end at vælge rustfri stålrør i en god kvalitet hvis man vil være nogenlunde sikker på at undgå metalafgivelse til drikkevandet. Ellers er det under alle omstændigheder en god idé at lade vandet løbe nogle sekunder inden man tapper af det.</div>
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For armaturernes, blandingsbatteriernes, vedkommende er det mere kompliceret da langt de fleste armaturer, selv de VA-godkendte, indeholder legeringer som potentielt kan være til fare for sundheden. Selv efter indførelsen af det skrappe RoHS-direktiv i 2006, er det stadig tilladt at tilsætte bly til messingen for at den kan forarbejdes mekanisk, og der er ingen grænse for hvor meget der må tilsættes så længe det vand der løber igennem overholder grænseværdierne for bly. At dette desværre ikke altid er tilfældet, viser de målinger Force Technology har foretaget. Det samme gælder nikkel som anvendes i forkromingsprocessen. I mange tilfælde kan konstateres alt for høje værdier af nikkel fordi metallet er i direkte kontakt med vandet.</div>
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Den eneste producent af armaturer, som indtil videre har taget konsekvensen af denne uholdbare situation og har fremstillet en 'bæredygtig' vandhane, er firmaet <a href="http://www.zeromix.dk/">Zeromix</a> som helt undlader at anvende bly i deres messinglegeringer. Firmaet reklamerer også med at det har udviklet en metode hvorved nikkel og krom ikke kommer i kontakt med eller kan overføres til vandet.</div>
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Kilder:</div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://www.mst.dk/Publikationer/Publikationer/2001/06/87-7944-526-8.htm">http://www.mst.dk/Publikationer/Publikationer/2001/06/87-7944-526-8.htm</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://www.mst.dk/Publikationer/Publikationer/2004/12/87-7614-470-4.htm">http://www.mst.dk/Publikationer/Publikationer/2004/12/87-7614-470-4.htm</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://www.mst.dk/Publikationer/Publikationer/2006/08/87-7052-124-7.htm">http://www.mst.dk/Publikationer/Publikationer/2006/08/87-7052-124-7.htm</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.teknologisk.dk/_root/media/29226_8%20Migration.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.teknologisk.dk/_<wbr></wbr>root/media/29226_8%<wbr></wbr>20Migration.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teknologiportalen.dk/NR/rdonlyres/2E985731-9F6E-4159-9BE9-BB49174D3066/2813/Metalafgivelsefravandhaner.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.teknologiportalen.<wbr></wbr>dk/NR/rdonlyres/2E985731-9F6E-<wbr></wbr>4159-9BE9-BB49174D3066/2813/<wbr></wbr>Metalafgivelsefravandhaner.pdf</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.zeromix.dk/" target="_blank">http://www.zeromix.dk/</a></div>
Karsten Lieberkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04170328821410579506noreply@blogger.com0