Category: Basic Income

Jobless people are being paid a guaranteed basic income of nearly £6,000 a year in a radical experiment in Finland.

The Scandinavian country became the first in Europe to trial such a scheme, with 2,000 unemployed receiving 560 Euros (£475) a month for two years from January 1.

The recipients are free to spend the money on anything they choose, do not need to prove they are looking for work and will still receive the basic income even if they do get a full- or part-time job. Finland’s Prime Minister Juha Sipila wants to tackle the country’s unemployment problem Finnish government […]

Full Post at www.dailymail.co.uk

Finland begins trial of Universal Basic Income as the world looks on. FINLAND has become the first European country to give its unemployed citizens a guaranteed and unconditional monthly wage for doing nothing — even if they get a job.

A number of countries are toying with the idea of introducing the scheme known as Universal Basic Income (UBI). It replaces the traditional means-tested welfare system with a no-strings-attached streamlined version which, in theory, would offer a base level of income to everyone.

But while some have claimed the scheme is more efficient and could help reduce the amount governments […]

Full Post at www.news.com.au

Image via Getty/Doug Scott Here’s an experiment that’d likely be argued over by cable news hacks for weeks on end if it were to ever be enacted here. Finland is offering 2,000 unemployed citizens a monthly income of $590 in an effort to learn how that money will help (or not help) those participants get back to work. The $590 figure represents " a trial version of basic income ," and will be allotted regardless of whether the recipients find employment or not.

Marjukka Turunen, the head of the legal benefits unit for the country’s federal social-security agency ( Kela […]

Full Post at www.complex.com

Making money is pretty much the bane of very human’s existence on this planet. I wish this weren’t the case–but that would be the kind of thinking that could only exist in a utopian future. Well, Finland is trying to make this utopian future an actual reality with universal basic income. This means the state provides citizens with money, regardless of how much they work.

According to Associated Press , Finland is starting a two-year trial that will give 2,000 randomly selected unemployed citizens a guaranteed basic monthly income of €560 (equivalent to $587), even after they’ve found work. Amazing, […]

Full Post at www.kveller.com

Image: Getty Images/blue jean images RF It’s not a new concept. In the late 1790s, American statesman Thomas Paine called for a universal payment of £15 per year to all his countrymen in exchange for the right to hold private property.

First suggested over 200 years ago, the idea of universal basic income never quite went away, and in many circles, it’s actually picking up steam.

Progressive Finland is officially the first sovereign nation to put it to the test. Two-thousand Finnish citizens, who were selected randomly from those currently receiving unemployment benefits or an income subsidy, will now receive €560 […]

Full Post at mashable.com

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Ah, socialism. Is there ever a time you fail to amuse us?

In Finland we are seeing the launch of an idea which has been popular among liberals for quite some time but hasn’t really caught on anywhere. The government there has launched a pilot program where a select group of unemployed people will be given an assured basic income starting this month with no strings attached, no requirement to work (or do anything else for that matter) and no end to the program even if they go back to work. What could possibly go wrong […]

Full Post at hotair.com

A few unemployed Finns are receiving a monthly check with no strings attached—but it’s unlikely to tell us whether universal basic income is a good idea.

Finland has become the first European country to implement a basic income. In a small experiment, 2,000 of the around 213,000 people in the country who are currently unemployed have been selected to receive 560 Euros (about $587) a month as part of their benefits package, according to the Guardian .

The aim of the experiment is to see whether guaranteeing a baseline income for people without jobs will spur them back to work. Finland’s […]

Full Post at www.technologyreview.com

Helsinki – Finland has become the first nation to pay some of its unemployed citizens an unconditional monthly universal basic income (UBI), a benefit that continues even after they find work.

Deutsche Welle reports beginning this month some 2,000 unemployed Finns will receive monthly payments of €560 ($584) with no strings attached. Recipients will pay no tax on the UBI, and the tax-free payments will continue even after they find jobs. They will be randomly chosen from a pool of 25-58 year-olds who received government unemployment benefits in November 2016. Marjukka Turunen, head of legal affairs for Kela, the Finnish […]

Full Post at www.digitaljournal.com

Finland’s Social Insurance Institution, or Kela, announced on Monday the launch of an experiment designed to test the potential effects of a universal basic income (UBI). Given that the program is in its earliest stages, however, it is far from "universal": 2,000 participants who were randomly selected from the country’s working-age (25 to 58), unemployed population will receive a basic income of €560 ($581) per month through the end of 2018.

Universal basic income is an old idea – Thomas Paine discussed it in the 18th century – but it has received renewed attention in recent years as automation threatens […]

Full Post at www.investopedia.com