Finland Launches A Two-Year Experiment In Basic Income For Unemployed Citizens

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On Tuesday, the Finnish government announced it will begin a two-year trial of a universal basic income system, as reported by The Verge. Under the monetary experiment, the country will be giving 2,000 randomly selected unemployed citizens a monthly income of £560 (about $587).

The concept of countries bestowing an income to unemployed citizens isn’t new, but it’s a difficult one to implement. Switzerland outright rejected a proposal of the concept in June, but there have been trials popping up around the globe, including some in Kenya; Ontario, Canada; and Utrecht, Netherlands.

Under Finland’s plan, the 2,000 randomly selected citizens would be given £560 every month. To put that into perspective, the average income for a private sector employee in the country is £3,500 (about $3646). An interesting caveat to this program is that citizens won’t have to report how they spend the income, and they will continue to receive the income even after they get a job, which sounds like a pretty sweet gig.

Finland is one of the first countries to take a stab at the practice in order to curb unemployment, which is hovering around 8.1 percent. Olli Kangas, a representative from Finland’s KELA government agency, said the trial could help shape future policies:

“It’s highly interesting to see how it makes people behave. Will this lead them to boldly experiment with different kinds of jobs? Or, as some critics claim, make them lazier with the knowledge of getting a basic income without doing anything?”

For now, the program is just designed for the unemployed, but Kangas did not rule out including freelancers, small-scale entrepreneurs and part-time workers in the future.

(Via The Verge)

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