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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: 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.