A basic income for everyone? Yes, Finland shows it really can work.

[Eliot Rosewater]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/31/finland-universal-basic-income

Mark Zuckerberg, Bernie Sanders and Elon Musk back the idea. And trials suggest it can liberate jobless people from a life of humiliation


Yet hardly anyone knows what it might actually look like. For all the fuss, Finland is the first European country to launch a major dry run. It is not the purists’ UBI – which would give everyone, even billionaires, a monthly sum. Nor will Finland publish any results until the two-year pilot is over at the end of 2018. In the meantime, we rely on the testimony of participants such as Järvinen. Which is why I have to fly to Helsinki, then drive the five hours to meet him.

In fairness to a DU poster I said "works elsewhere" and it seems it is being proven now, not yet completely proven, so I was wrong.

NOW, what the DEBATE is at the moment is can this be done and should it be tried now? I say yes AND no.

If the only person in our government who agrees with me cant form a coalition to do this, then his only buddies will continue to be Elon and Mark.

The POINT is of course this cant happen when actual Nazi's and traitors are running things, so to talk about it now makes no sense.

PUT the FIRE out first! Then you can argue with me why we cant do this, because we can. If we survive that is.

[DURHAM D]

1. Not a new idea.

President Nixon argued for a basic income for everyone.

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. I would be surprised to learn he did that, but anything is possible.

[Matthew28]

3. Good idea

No one should live on the street or go hungry.

Anyone that thinks otherwise wishes to enslave people for not getting lucky in life. It about power over the population.

This is the moral thing to do.

[Eliot Rosewater]

4. And it has the same chance of becoming law now as outlawing religion and guns

[JCanete]

7. it has a chance of getting us elected and holding onto office. Running on these things is

how we could put a nail in the republican coffins. It isn't pointless to talk about. It certainly isn't. And it is not pointless to campaign on them. This will be the way we need to go at some point, and if we aren't ready mentally to make that leap...if the public still only has its initial gut reaction that will be triggered by republican and corporate media, we won't be ready to move on it.

Kudos for highlighting the story!

[MichMan]

5. It only applies to 2000 people in Finland

At $684 per month

[Eliot Rosewater]

8. Baby steps

[MichMan]

10. Too limited and too soon to state that Finland proves basic income works

The headline is misleading as they aren't even releasing any data or other information yet

[tblue37]

12. I just read that the program is being curtailed in Finland, though. nt

[JDC]

6. Finland also eliminated ALL private schools and guess what?

Education got measurably better for all.


Preschool for everyone and college tuition is free.

They blow us away in educational

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/finland-education-beats-us-2017-5

Living wage income and education for all is doable. The problem is, we think greed and private income at the expense of others are the watermarks of success. Bootstraps and all that shit.

[Eliot Rosewater]

9. All true, and impossible at the moment.

Pretend a house is being robbed by 3 armed robbers and I am in the attic hiding with one other person.

I want to wait for the police to show up, take the robbers out and save us. The other guy I am hiding with wants to sneak down into one of the bedrooms and watch the baseball game on TV while the robbers are still robbing the house.

Something like that.

[Baclava]

11. 2017 article? A year later - 'Finland ends universal basic income experiment'

Finland has decided to end its experiment with a universal basic income, in which people are paid an unconditional salary by the state instead of benefits.

The idea of a universal basic income has high-profile champions such as Richard Branson, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

But the Finnish government's enthusiasm for a pilot scheme, a European first which garnered worldwide attention, is petering out. Calls for extra funding for it were rejected and the two year trial will not be extended after next year.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/04/23/finland-ends-universal-basic-income-experiment/

[Eliot Rosewater]

14. We have FAR greater wealth than they do, we can do this if we want.

[Matthew28]

13. but it is

ok if a few percent at the top take 90% of the wealth and screw over their workers.

Greed is why it is failing...The elites rule the political class and must stop the basic income as they need cheap labor to mistreat to make more money!