Finland to begin paying basic income to unemployed citizens

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Independent

Finland to begin paying basic income to unemployed citizens

Scandinavian country becomes first to adopt policy with new trial of 2,000 unemployed people
Ben Kentish
@BenKentish
3 hours ago




Finland is to introduce a basic income for some citizens from next month, becoming the first country to adopt the policy.

Two thousand unemployed people will be given 560 (480) every month for two years, without any restrictions or conditions attached. Leaders hope the move will improve life quality, reduce unemployment and create jobs.

Recipients will not need to prove they are looking for work and the money will be given regardless of any other income the person earns.

The Finnish government is planning to study whether the policy helps recipients find work. It suspects many unemployed people are put off getting a job because they will lose unemployment benefits and therefore be worse off financially a similar problem to that which tax credits were designed to solve in the UK.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/finland-universal-basic-income-ubi-citizens-560-euros-monthly-job-poverty-unemployment-a7492911.html

[sarcasmo]

1. Scandinavian countries are the best countries on this planet, my two-cents.

[jodymarie aimee]

2. my god, they are magnificent

we can't even fix our potholes.....educate our children...man oh man....

[TheDebbieDee]

3. Because that nation is NOT about creating criminals

To be housed in for-profit prisons (Finland doesn't have for-profit prisons, btw.).

[MADem]

4. This is a test--this is only a test. They aren't the first ones to do this, either.

People who just read headlines shouldn't move to Finland in hopes of getting a free ride. Universal basic income has been batted around for quite a while, now, and other tests have been done, too, before this one.

Those tiresome farts at The National Review find lots of reasons to hate the idea.


http://www.nationalreview.com/article/436621/universal-basic-income-ubi-terrible-idea


It could be the paradigm for the future, though. Humans, down the ages, have worked very hard to figure out ways to work less!!!

[Judi Lynn]

5. I always thought the goal of social programs was to help those who are suffering,

not to work less.

It never would have occurred to some of us in a million years that the reason people have tried so long to find a workable solution for a world of clearly unequal human beings was to fix things so some people could take wildly unfair advantage of others. That's what we have had from the first of this amazing society build upon the graves of millions.

[MADem]

9. Working less improves suffering...

The 40 hour work week changed everything.

[TexasBushwhacker]

6. Isn't it amazing how much they hate poor people?

Yet their policies make so many of them.

[MADem]

10. Funny thing is that when they are given

Basic support they become more productive,not less.

[TexasBushwhacker]

11. Yup. Aetna's president was shocked to find out

how many of their customer service agents were on food stamps. He decided to raise the base wage to $16 an hour. He said the raises should pay for themselves in decreased turnover and increased productivity.

Like all health insurance company presidents, he's still a jerk, but less so than others.

http://www.npr.org/2015/04/30/403257223/health-insurer-aetna-raises-wages-for-lowest-paid-workers-to-16-an-hour

[Blue Idaho]

7. In every growing economy there are going to be unemployed workers

Why not accept that and provide for them as a part of a healthy national economy?

[madokie]

8. At least they're trying to find answers

more that we can say about our pols