The idea of implementing a basic income, without conditions or counterparts, to replace the various existing social aids, is gaining ground here and there. Finland is leading the charge.
As promised by the Prime Minister during his electoral campaign, the Finnish government will test the payment of a basic income to every citizen, without conditions.
Each of the 2,000 randomly selected Finnish citizens of working age will receive €560 per month, rich or poor, as their sole and unique social benefit.
“When evaluating the effects of the basic income, the test group would be compared with a control group consisting of individuals of the same type as the target group but not receiving the basic income. The primary goal of the basic income experiment is to promote employment,” explained the ministry.
The government also hopes to simplify the social benefits system and “reduce bureaucracy.”
And in France?
In France, Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared in mid-May, in his hometown of Evry (Essonne), that “the universal income is an idea that needs to be put in public debate” in anticipation of the 2017 presidential election.
According to Yannick L’Horty, professor at the University Paris-Est-Marne-la-Vallée, in Le Monde, “it is one of the rare economic measures that can be both very social and very liberal.”
For now, the French are quite divided on the establishment of a “universal minimum income” since only 51% of the French support it*.
Some see it as an opportunity for each of us to lead a decent life, while others claim that a guaranteed income would lead to an increased risk of idleness.
As for the Swiss, they outright said no to this project in a referendum. 77% of voters opposed a popular initiative for a universal income of €2,300 per month.
