by Ivana Kottasova
January 03, 2017
from
MoneyCNN Website
UBI trials are
being conducted in the U.S., Canada, Iceland and
Brazil, while the global elite hold study groups.
This is the
downhill slide into Technocracy, and we predict that
the ultimate global currency will be based on
energy.
Source
Finland is
giving 2,000 citizens a guaranteed income
The program, which kicks off this month, is one of the first efforts
to test a "universal basic income - UBI."
Participants will receive €560 ($587) a
month - money that is guaranteed regardless of income, wealth or
employment status.
The idea is that
a universal income offers workers
greater security, especially as technological advances reduce
the need for human labor. It will also allow unemployed people to
pick up odd jobs without losing their benefits.
The initial program will run for a period of two years.
Participants were randomly selected, but
had to be receiving unemployment benefits or an income subsidy. The
money they are paid through the program will not be taxed.
If the program is successful, it could be expanded to include all
adult Finns.
The Finnish government thinks the initiative could save money in the
long run. The country's welfare system is complex and expensive to
run, and simplifying it could reduce costly bureaucracy.
The change could also encourage more jobless people to look for
work, because they won't have to worry about losing unemployment
benefits.
Some unemployed workers currently avoid
part time jobs because even a small income boost could result in
their unemployment benefits being canceled.
"Incidental earnings do not reduce
the basic income, so working and... self-employment are
worthwhile no matter what," said Marjukka Turunen, the head of
the legal unit at
Kela, Finland's social
insurance agency.
The idea is not unique to Finland.
Advocates point to the Italian city of Livorno, which started a
guaranteed basic income for the city's 100 poorest families in June.
The scheme was extended to further 100 families starting Sunday.
They are receiving €500 ($525) per month.
Pilot programs are also being discussed in,
-
Canada
-
Iceland
-
Uganda
-
Brazil
Switzerland last year considered giving
every adult citizen a guaranteed income of $2,500 a month, but the
plan was rejected in a referendum.
More than 75% of voters were against the
measure.
The best example of a guaranteed income program might
actually be in the U.S. Alaska has been giving out annual cash
payments to all residents since the 1980s, a dividend from the
state's oil revenue.
BIEN, a group that campaigns for
universal income, describes it as the first,
"genuine universal basic income
system."
Video
Carl Icahn - 'The minimum wage should
go up'
Finland has started a
radical experiment:
It's giving 2,000 citizens a
guaranteed income,
with funds that keep flowing
whether participants work or
not.
|