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Wednesday, January 4th, 2017

Finland is giving 2,000 citizens a guaranteed income

Author:     Ivana Kottasova
Source:     CNN Money
Publication Date:     January 3, 2017: 8:35 AM ET
Link: Finland is giving 2,000 citizens a guaranteed income
Stephan:   Here is some good news.  Finland is joining with other countries and Alaska in what is literally a social experiment: providing a guaranteed income, to a scientifically balanced pilot population, and seeing what happens. It's described in this report. What the Theocratic Right has never understood is that fostering wellbeing is always cheaper, healthier, more efficient, more productive, and nicer for everyone. The social outcome data is absolutely explicit on this. I think it is important to ask what stops them from seeing the data for what it is? What prejudice trumps wellbeing for them? Nobody ever asks that question and I think it's time we did.  

Finland has started a radical experiment: It’s giving 2,000 citizens a guaranteed income, with funds that keep flowing whether participants work or not.

The program, which kicks off this month, is one of the first efforts to test a “universal basic income.” Participants will receive €560 ($587) a month — money that is guaranteed regardless of income, wealth or employment status.

The idea is that a universal income offers workers greater security, especially as technological advances reduce the need for human labor. It will also allow unemployed people to pick up odd jobs without losing their benefits.

The initial program will run for a period of two years. Participants were randomly selected, but had to be receiving unemployment benefits or an income subsidy. The money they are paid through the program will not be taxed.

If the program is successful, it could be expanded to include all adult Finns.

The Finnish government thinks the initiative could save money in the long run. The country’s welfare system is complex and expensive to run, and simplifying it could reduce costly bureaucracy.

The change could also encourage more jobless people to look […]

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1 Comment

  1. Mark R on Wednesday, January 4, 2017 at 7:25 am

    UBI may be a transitional technique to help weather the financial & technological changes that are underway. It seems practical, my concern is where does the money come from long term? Those who work and are productive are still getting penalized for their labor in order to provide resources for those who did not earn theirs. Still, it may work better than the complicated, disasterous system we have now in the welfare state.