sustainability – troutish.net

Universal Basic Income – What to do about wealthy people?

The idea of a Universal Basic Income seems pretty straight forward. Everyone gets a minimum payment to cover life’s costs. Sounds good, all things being equal.

But all things are not equal.

Rich people do NOT need universal basic income and indeed should not get it. Or should they?

Maybe the answer isn’t means testing the payment of UBI, it’s means-testing the ability to access it. Controlling access is not a new idea.

Take superannuation – everyone gets paid a regulated minimum amount of Super – but can only access it under certain conditions such as retirement, dire medical issues or potentially losing home due to non-payments.

Your UBI could be paid into a government-held bank account, which can be accessed dependent upon a few very simple conditions. Those conditions would need some smarter people to work out properly…

But lets ‘spitball’ some ideas to start with:

Your yearly income is less than 200% of the ‘average’ (median) income, or $200,000 per year (adjusted for inflation)
Your total asset value does not exceed 1000% of the ‘average’ (median) asset value, or $5 million (adjusted for inflation)

Continue reading Universal Basic Income – What to do about wealthy people?

We need each other… (The best words from Progress 2015)

If there’s one thing I took away from #Progress2015, it’s that we need each other.

We need to be actively build deep cross-campaign and inter-community relationships. Our causes are all STRONGLY connected and so are our audiences – but we as individual people are not yet, and we need to be.

So hi, I’m Luke. I run online comms for a union, consult in online comms for several popular hip hop artists and a heap of causes, and have been managing/admin in online communities since IRC in 1996.

I am very interested in the space where online communities and communication meets (positive) real world actions.

I’ve got experience in turning people out to gigs/protests/actions, crowd-sourcing for causes (or to get me to Progress!), obsessively following hashtags with up-to-the-moment live coverage of amazing events overseas when I should be sleeping, developing new friendships//meeting new people online.

Actually, I met many/most of the closest people in my life online before real life: Continue reading We need each other… (The best words from Progress 2015)

2015: Day 1 of the New Climate Era

People Climate Mobilisation 2014 - photo by Zeb Parkes — From the People’s Climate Mobilisation, Sept 2014

Today is Day 1 of the New Climate Era – a whole new reality for humankind.

Welcome to the new climate era, where the earth is never again like it was for the rest of human existence; where our very existence depends on changing our economies and lifestyles to become compatible with the sensitive and finite nature of life on earth.

We’ve now reached the point of no return in regards to preventing catastrophic climate change.

We must act urgently and with a social determination not seen since the immediate period post World War II, when social progress came in leaps and bounds around the globe and nations received self determination.

That was a time where the all consuming power of kings, queens, empires and oligarchs was repeatedly challenged and defeated in the name of a necessary progress.

Now it’s our turn.

We must challenge and defeat the seemingly endless power of corporations and their ill-conceived economic doctrine of ‘endless growth’, if there is to be anything like our modern civilization left for future generations to inherit. Continue reading 2015: Day 1 of the New Climate Era

Two fracking free towns in Western Australia

double win wa There are now two towns in Western Australia to declare themselves fracking free zones, where fracking activities are not welcome.

Earlier this week the town of Greenough declared itself frack free and now they have been followed by the Shire of Coorow.

On Wednesday Coorow councillors unanimously backed a request to put a hold on all fracking work at energy company AWE’s Drover-1 well.

The request was submitted by residents from the local Green Head and Leeman communities.

Of course it drew the usual responses saying fracking is a ‘safe’ process and doesn’t need to be put through rigorous environmental assessment, despite our aquifers being at risk.

But neither the process of injecting high pressure chemicals into the earth, nor the resulting escape of methane is safe for our environment.

Methane is far more potent a green house gas than carbon dioxide in the immediate term, and fracking wells are notorious for creating methane leaks.

It’s simply not worth the risk.

I stand with the peoples of Greenough, Green Heads and Leeman in their fight to prevent fracking in Western Australia.

We will win the day.

September 21 – People’s Climate Mobilisation (Perth)

Let’s make this an event to be remembered. It’s time for us to step up and commit to taking actions which create and protect the safe climate future we all need.

On September 21 there will be actions we can take on the day, actions we can take in our personal lives and things we can begin doing together.

We need to use ALL our political, financial and collective power in order to secure the urgent action necessary for a safe climate future.

Promoting this event is a great vehicle for those conversations and it’s also far more effective than just mass-clicking invite button.

So let’s start having those conversations and inviting people along!

Click here to go to the Facebook Event