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Finland begins Universal Basic Income trial as the world watches

Finland begins Universal Basic Income trial as the world watches

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 […]

Routine jobs vanishing and it’s all technology’s fault? Hold it there, sport

Routine jobs vanishing and it's all technology's fault? Hold it there, sport

We’re being encouraged to do different work and not everyone can keep up, study shows

Routine jobs are disappearing, pushing less educated workers toward either lower-paying non-routine jobs, unemployment, or non-participation in the labor market.

The automation of routine work by technology is partially responsible, though its role is relatively small, according to a paper [paywalled] published last month through the US National Bureau of Economic Research.The paper, "Disappearing Routine Jobs: Who, How, and Why?", coauthored by Guido Matias Cortes, Nir Jaimovich, and Henry E Siu, attributes about one third of the decline in routine employment over the past four […]

Finland Launches Experiment That Will Give 2,000 People Free Money Until 2019

Finland Launches Experiment That Will Give 2,000 People Free Money Until 2019

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 […]

Why Finland’s Experiment in Universal Basic Income Is Important

Why Finland’s Experiment in Universal Basic Income Is Important

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, […]

Why Finland is ahead of the US with guaranteed income

Why Finland is ahead of the US with guaranteed income

Finland just rolled out a pilot program to test universal basic income, or UBI . And while the idea of regular cash handouts may sound tantalizing, out-of-work Americans shouldn’t hold their breaths.

The Scandinavian country announced yesterday that 2,000 randomly-selected, unemployed individuals between the ages 25 and 58 will receive a monthly cash payment of 560 euros ($582.90) for two years.

The payments will continue even if the recipient finds work . The goal, according to the Finnish government, is to increase employment . A privately funded pilot program is in the early stages in California , but the United […]

Money for nothing: What universal basic income means for you

Money for nothing: What universal basic income means for you

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 […]

Solution to automation and the unemployment and wealth disparity it creates (VIDEO)

Many fear automation. Here is the truth, automation is the result of a knowledge base created and paid for by us all. As such we should not fear it but benefit from it. Automation is a good thing we should all benefit from

Automation is a good thing. But we need to ensure that our government passes the appropriate laws to ensure that it does not become the next competitor to labor.

The subject of the last Politics Done Right show of 2016 was supposed to be about why Republicans had to kill Obamacare quickly. It evolved into the discussion […]

Finland launches a guaranteed basic income program for the unemployed

Finland launches a guaranteed basic income program for the unemployed

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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 […]

Finland Starts Handing Out a Basic Income

Finland Starts Handing Out a Basic Income

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 […]

Finland testing universal basic income for select unemployed

Finland testing universal basic income for select unemployed

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 […]