Robin Good

• 

  an idea whose time has come

idea still under heavy development

Inspiration

In 2011 the European Commission officially presented a plan to create a new financial transactions tax "to make the financial sector pay its fair share". Known as the European Union financial transaction tax (EU FTT), the tax could raise 57 billion Euros per year if implemented across the entire EU! The proposal has sadly been stalled since 2013, despite a campaign in the UK reaching over a million supporters.

While the negotiations on the EU FTT are still going on, if this succeeds, where could that money go? Our idea is that it should be equally divided among all EU citizens, in the form of an Unconditional Basic Income!

What is an Unconditional Basic Income?

An Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) is an income unconditionally granted to all members of a political community on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement.

Unlike many existing minimum income schemes in European countries, UBI is universal, individual, unconditional, and high enough to ensure an existence that preserves personal dignity and allows an individual active participation in society:

• Universal: Every person, irrespective of age, ethnicity, place of residence, profession etc. will be entitled to receive this allocation.
• Individual: Everyone has the right to UBI on an individual basis as this is the only way to ensure privacy and to prevent control over other individuals. UBI will be independent of marital status, cohabitation or household configuration, or of the income or property of other household or family members.
• Unconditional: As a human right UBI shall not depend on any preconditions, whether this be an obligation to take paid employment, to be involved in community service, or to behave according to traditional gender roles. Nor will it be subject to income, savings or property limits.
• High enough: The amount given should provide for a decent standard of living, one which meets society’s social and cultural standards in the country concerned. It should prevent material poverty and provide the opportunity to participate in society and to live in dignity.

Various UBI pilot projects and experiments have proven how effective and empowering such a measure can be, but we're now experiencing first hand the inadequacy of the existing social welfare schemes to address a crisis, with those most in need falling through the cracks of the multiple conditions of the measures, losing their health or even their lives while filling forms.

What Robin Good does

Robin Good consists of two parts:

• The Robin Good Fund

If the EU FTT becomes a thing, we propose the creation of a fund where the money gathered from the tax will be deposited at the end of every financial year, in order for it to be equally divided among all residents of all EU member states, legally registered until the end of the same year (similar to the Permanent Fund Dividend of Alaska). 57 billion Euros equally divided by 446 million citizens would mean 127 Euros per citizen. That's obviously not high enough, making it only a Partial Basic Income, but it's a great start to show that it's possible and honour EU values in practice. Plus, however small, it can be life-saving for the most vulnerable. The Fund can keep increasing with the addition of more measures, such as a carbon dividend or a land-value-tax, until it reaches a liveable level of income for everyone, truly ensuring our human rights are protected.

• The Robin Good Platform

In lack of a more advanced way, citizens would have to opt-in in order to receive their Robin Good Dividend. An online platform would make it easy for the citizens to register, opt-in to receive the dividend (they should only have to opt-in once!) and manage their account. The identification of the citizens can be verified in the same way the European Citizens' Initiative or indeed any modern e-banking system achieves this, while encrypting and protecting their private data as per EU law. Children can register under the supervision of their parent or guardian, but should nonetheless maintain their own account. Each registered citizen would have a digital wallet on the Robin Good Platform, on which the cash would be automatically deposited by the Fund as digital cash, at 1:1 rate to the Euro, guaranteed by the European Central Bank. The citizens could then choose to spend it directly from within the platform or withdraw it to a personal bank account of their choice. The platform will be intuitive and include all relevant information for the citizens in an accessible manner. This way, the citizens will be protected and empowered by the EU to cover their needs and practice their rights!

What's next?

This project was submitted relatively late for this particular hackathon, not enough in time to gather a team around it to develop it properly. It did however raise enough interest to show that the idea resonates with several participants of this hackathon and will continue to be developed after the hackathon! Please pay attention to all the links shared on the description above and contact Antonis if you're interested to take this further, or just have a chat about Basic Income!

Stay healthy and good luck with your final and next projects!