Business studies

A Basic Income for everybody

Amaranatho — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:31:48 +0000

A basic income is an income unconditionally granted to all on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement. It is a form of minimum income guarantee that differs from those that now exist in various European countries in three important ways:

* it is being paid to individuals rather than households;

* it is paid irrespective of any income from other sources;

* it is paid without requiring the performance of any work or the willingness to accept a job if offered.

Confessions of a checkout girl at Sainsbury's: A portrait of modern Britain from the other side of the till

Amaranatho — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:06:26 +0000

So here I am. Day One as a trainee Sainsbury's checkout girl. My hair is tied back, I'm wearing my bright blue polyester polo shirt, my shoes are flat and sensible and I've got my orange name-badge on.

It's November 2008, and we are headed for a full-blown recession. Across Britain, people are losing their jobs in droves, and already I can see the first signs of what is happening in the wider world.