Category: Basic Income

Why are people in Finland getting paid to do nothing?

Why are people in Finland getting paid to do nothing?

Why are people in Finland getting paid to do nothing? Finland has launched its new Universal Basic Income scheme – a controversial idea to replace other benefits with a single annual payment to those out of work.

Here’s everything you need to know about the system, including whether it works and if it could ever be a reality here. How much cash will they actually get?

Around 2,000 unemployed citizens will get €560 – or £475 – a month. The payments will continue even if they find work, and the trial lasts for two years. If successful, the pilot scheme […]

Finland Tries To Realize Utopian Dream Of Basic Income

Finland Tries To Realize Utopian Dream Of Basic Income

Finland embarked on a two-year long experiment this week to make regular payments to the unemployed in a bid to modernize the social security system and to explore if a basic income would help to boost employment.

The first stage of the Finnish basic income experiment, launched on January 1, involves 2,000 persons aged between 25 and 58, the country’s Parliament-supervised social security institution, Kela said.

Participants were selected from a random sample of existing jobless benefit recipients. They are set to receive a monthly income of EUR 560 for two years, in addition to existing welfare benefits. The first payment […]

Denley: Ontario should have a guaranteed income for those with disabilities

Denley: Ontario should have a guaranteed income for those with disabilities

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. The Liberals have had 13 years to update the welfare system, argues Randall Denley. The Ontario government is conducting an online survey to find out what you think about a no-strings-attached basic income as way to reduce poverty. It’s a step on the road to a pilot project that could last up to three years.

At the risk of spoiling the suspense, I am going to say giving people more money will reduce poverty. The questions are, would a guaranteed annual income be good public policy and does the government have the money to follow through?

Ontario […]

Universal Basic Income discussion thread

Posted by Abi Sutherland at 05:51 PM * 43 comments

There are many things I am not, among them an economist, a futurologist, a historian of labor, (a person who writes ‘an historian’,) or an expert on Universal Basic Income in any or all its variants.

But it’s pretty clear that the world economy is changing. Jobs are already being automated away; the advent of self-driving cars, trucks, and vans is going to take another big bite out of the labor market. Between that and the lack of a living minimum wage, one possible future is more people scrambling after […]

Exclusive: Inside Canada’s new basic income project

Exclusive: Inside Canada’s new basic income project

The Canadian province of Ontario is to start giving some 2,500 people a basic income – money with no strings attached.

The project, which is expected to start later this year, is being designed to test whether a basic income should be given to all Ontarians living in poverty.

‘The government basically believes that if people have the security of knowing their basic necessities are taken care of, they will contribute to society,’ Dr Helena Jaczek, the minister running the scheme, told Apolitical. ‘And this is the point of the pilot, to see: what is the behaviour change? Does that security […]

Muskoka could teach province a thing or two about community engagement

Muskoka could teach province a thing or two about community engagement

Thinkstock image by digitalskillet MuskokaRegion.com

BRACEBRIDGE — The province of Ontario is looking for municipalities to take part in a basic income pilot project, but the District of Muskoka thinks they can do one better.

The project would see municipalities participating in a basic income pilot project that could see simplification for those receiving social assistance. However, community services commissioner Rick Williams said the odds of Muskoka being one of only three municipalities selected are low.“There are several communities actively seeking pilot status in both southern and northern Ontario,” he said.Where the commissioner thinks Muskoka could benefit is by example of […]

Finland Begins Guaranteed Income Program

It would be true r-selection, but in might not be as bad as what we have now: Finland has become the first country in Europe to pay its unemployed citizens a basic monthly income, amounting to 560 euros ($587), in a unique social experiment which is hoped to cut government red tape, reduce poverty and boost employment. I remember a story on 60 Minutes. It featured a US Marine who had served in combat in the War on Terror. He had come home, and like many who spent extended periods living at the ultra high revs of combat, had […]

Finland launches basic income scheme

Finland launches basic income scheme

Finland becomes the first European country to pilot a basic income scheme. Could unconditional monthly sums curb mass unemployment and create more equal societies?

The Finnish government has launched a two-year experiment offering a guaranteed sum of €560 (£475) per month to 2,000 unemployed Finns. It hopes the pilot, which began on 1 January, will reduce bureaucracy and poverty, and boost employment. For the randomly selected participants, the cash sums will replace their existing social benefits and will continue to be paid even if they take up jobs. The current Finnish system can discourage people from finding jobs because even […]

Finland begins universal basic income experiment

Finland begins universal basic income experiment

Finland has begun delivering unconditional payments to unemployed citizens to test whether providing a universal basic income can help boost employment. Euro banknotes – Photo: iStock For the next two years, Finland’s social security agency Kela will deliver monthly payments of €560 ($584) to 2,000 randomly selected unemployed residents between the ages of 25 and 58.

The pilot will serve as the latest experiment in universal basic income (UBI) – an idea that is increasingly gaining traction as automation and technology threaten to displace much of the workforce into the future.

However, amid growing support UBI also faces much criticism, with […]

Testing the idea of a basic income for all

In 2017, Finland, the Netherlands, Ontario, and even Oakland, California, will all turn into mini-laboratories for basic income .

A universal basic income is a social safety net of sorts. The government cuts everybody a monthly check to meet basic needs, no conditions. Unstable jobs and automation are among the forces driving these pilot programs, but they also highlight a growing movement to make government more experimental.

Matt Zwolinski , a professor of philosophy at the University of San Diego and a libertarian advocate of basic income, said he’s a big fan of social science experiments. “Even with policies I […]