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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: 3, Disagree) by bzipitidoo on Friday April 20 2018, @07:42AM (6 children)
I'd rather there be jobs for everyone, because it is good for one's self-esteem and health to have something to do that is at least marginally useful. Restart the Depression Era government agencies-- the Works Progress Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Dr Spin on Friday April 20 2018, @09:12AM (4 children)
The theory is that if you have your basic needs met, you can invent your time in a long-term plan to get rich/make money.
Unofficially, that is what happened a lot in the UK in the 1960's: if you were unemployed (and lied a lot) you could get enough benefits
to survive on, at the cost of going to the dole office once a fortnight, and signing your name.
This left you a lot of free time to learn to play the guitar and start a rock band or start a fashion house, or go and live somewhere else where jobs are to be had,
or become a dope dealer and learn practical capitalism.
As a result of this, eventually, the economy started booming (the singing 60's, The Beatles and Rolling Stones, etc), and then computers became widely used,
so it was harder to get away with lying to the dole office, without which your income was inadequate, so you had to turn to organised/disorganised crime.
Over all, I would say the experiment was a blinding success (although my pop group was a miserable failure). The official data is probably less well informed about reality,
as the officials in those days had no access to the truth, so many may think otherwise.
Later, the Socialists were elected to power (Harold Wilson) and the economy tanked.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday April 20 2018, @01:13PM
An alternate explanation is that the UK's economy did the inevitable jump upwards after the mess of the Second World War.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @02:20PM
Easy with the line,
feeds tiger, other people have,
different,
width monitors/viewport than you...
Just let the computer worry about them.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday April 20 2018, @04:49PM (1 child)
Heh--how's that for irony? People whose platform is to do these sort of things on purpose fail, while the previous setup accomplished those same goals via incompetence.
Yes I know I'm probably massively oversimplifying.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @10:46PM
As seems to very often be the case with politics you end up with corruption and greed dictating behavior. Here is what one site had to say about Harold Wilson https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/29929/Harold+Wilsons+legacy [socialistworker.co.uk]
As we should all be painfully aware, labels and campaign promises are hollow words. Look at the actions if you want to make such judgment calls, your oversimplification only serves to bolster the mistaken idea around here that socialism destroys everything. All the evidence points the other way, programs that support the public and prevent massive wealth disparity result in better outcomes.
Look to the US. The 80s with Reagan destroyed a massive amount of successful social programs, and that trend has continued with de-funding and "accountability" measures that actually cost more and produce worse results. We are now in a situation where the average family struggles to survive and is one disaster away from true crisis. Wheeeee.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 21 2018, @02:08AM
So you say, but being extremely introverted, I'd rather sit around watching anime, playing games, and developing free software (Is that useful? Does that count?) all day. Maybe doing busywork is good for your self-esteem, but I don't care about it. Not everyone is eager to waste their time serving corporations and/or governments. I don't buy into this 'You have to do busywork or else you won't be fulfilled!' nonsense. Speak for yourself.