While media attention in the global North has focused on the Swiss referendum, some of the most interesting BI projects and plans are in the global South, from Brazil to South Africa. And not all are government initiatives. The GiveDirectly.org charity is planning on distributing a BI to 6,000 Kenyan villagers over 10 years in a historic program expected to cost $30 million.

It’s one of the oldest scripts in the political playbook: Once elected, you discover — horror of horrors — that the previous government has been hiding just how bad the financial situation is. This requires the new government to take radical measures to cut expenses, something that Philippe Couillard’s Liberals would have mentioned during the election campaign… if only they had known.