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Unexpected News that nobody could have foreseen.
Since the beginning of last year, 2000 Finns are getting money from the government each month – and they are not expected to do anything in return. The participants, aged 25–58, are all unemployed, and were selected at random by Kela, Finland's social-security institution.
Instead of unemployment benefits, the participants now receive €560, or $690, per month, tax free. Should they find a job during the two-year trial, they still get to keep the money.
While the project is praised internationally for being at the cutting edge of social welfare, back in Finland, decision makers are quietly pulling the brakes, making a U-turn that is taking the project in a whole new direction.
and . . .
Entrepreneurs who have expressed support for UBI include Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, and Google's futurist and engineering director Ray Kurzweil.
These tech moguls recognize that UBI, as well as [combating] poverty, could also help solve the problem of increased robotization in the workforce, a problem they are very much part of creating.
and . . .
The existing unemployment benefits were so high, the Finnish government argued, and the system so rigid, an unemployed person might choose not to take a job as they would risk losing money by doing so – the higher your earnings, the lower your social benefits. The basic income was meant as an incentive for people to start working.
This article gives me serious doubts about whether a program like this can work and whether other countries will try it.
Previously: Finland: Universal Basic Income Planned for Later in 2016
Finland Launches Basic Income Experiment With Jan. 1 Cheques for Those in Pilot Project
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @04:45AM (1 child)
It was a pilot, which is why it didn't extend to everybody.
And the whole concept of the UBI is more or less a replacement for the currently existing welfare programs. One of the big improvements on this was that the jobless could keep the benefits after finding work, which meant that there was some additional cushion even after being hired.
(Score: 2) by Wootery on Friday April 27 2018, @09:19AM
It's a meaningless pilot if there's such a selection bias.
The whole point of universal basic income is to contrast it against other forms of welfare. If all participants are unemployed out of the gate, the 'pilot' is close to meaningless.