Swiss voters rejected by a wide margin on Sunday a proposal to introduce a guaranteed basic income for everyone living in the wealthy country after an uneasy debate about the future of work at a time of increasing automation.
Supporters had said introducing a monthly income of 2,500 Swiss francs ($2,563) per adult and 625 francs per child under 18 no matter how much they work would promote human dignity and public service.
Opponents, including the government, said it would cost too much and weaken the economy.
Provisional final results showed 76.9 percent of voters opposed the bold social experiment launched by Basel cafe owner Daniel Haeni and allies in a vote under the Swiss system of direct democracy.
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at
Swiss reject free income plan after worker vs. robot debate | Reuters
Related Posts
Référendum sur le Revenu Minimum Garanti en Suisse – 77% refusent
L’idée d’un revenu de base versé à tous n’a pas du tout séduit les Suisses. Ils ont été 76,9% à rejeter dimanche cette initiative populaire lancée par un comité de citoyens sans appartenance politique. L’initiative “Pour un revenu de base inconditionnel” voulait contraindre la Confédération à instaurer un revenu de base versé sans contrepartie à … Continue reading
Revenu minimum garanti pour tous – Le rêve un peu fou de certains Suisses
En Europe, la Finlande sera en 2017, le premier État membre de l’UE à instaurer un revenu minimum universel. Aux Pays-Bas, la ville d’Utrecht expérimente également cette nouvelle approche qui a également ses thuriféraires en Suisse. Les défenseurs de ce qu’on appelle chez nos voisins le revenu de base inconditionnel ont d’ailleurs obtenu une petite … Continue reading
A Basic income or Guaranteed Income for Canada – Would cost the treasury more than $500-billion a year
The Finnish example is typical of the fiscal folly. The Finns propose a monthly transfer of €800 ($1,200) a person, which sounds nice until you do the math and figure out this would require a doubling of existing taxes to fund the program. This transfer would barely replace what low-income Finns already get under their … Continue reading
Universal Basic Income – These things are utopian one expert says
Universal Basic Income gets all this attention and popularity, but I haven’t seen one model that’s even on the planet of financial feasibility. These things are utopian. Finland is conducting an experiment in giving every adult a check for €800 a month, which would require spending far more than what the government raises in taxes. Whatever … Continue reading
US – Universal Basic Income for everyone would add roughly $2.2 trillion to government spending
So let’s run some numbers. Paying all 322 million Americans $10,000 a year would cost $3.22 trillion. Proponents claim this can be paid by redirecting existing welfare programs, but a quick review reveals this as nonsense. All state and local government social welfare programs are around $500 billion, and programs such as food stamps (SNAP) … Continue reading
Guaranteed Income in Finland – Paying 800 euros ($1,165) each month and scraping all other government benefits
Finland’s government is drawing up plans to pay every citizen a basic income of euros 800 ($1,165) each month, scrapping benefits altogether. Under proposals drafted by the Finnish Social Insurance Institution (Kela), the tax-free payments would replace all other benefit payments, and would be paid to all adults regardless of whether or not they receive … Continue reading
Job Market Monitor 
Discussion
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
Pingback: Universal Basic Income in US – The Economic Security Project (ESP) commits $10 million over the next two years “to explore” it | Job Market Monitor - December 10, 2016
Pingback: Finlande – Test d’un revenu de base universel à 780$ (560 euros) | Job Market Monitor - December 14, 2016
Pingback: Job Market Monitor - April 6, 2017
Pingback: Le Revenu Minimum Garanti au Québec – Le Comité d’experts dit non à l’allocation universelle | Job Market Monitor - November 14, 2017
Pingback: Basic Income in Canada – Using the Ontario model would would cost between $76.0 billion and $79.5 billion | Job Market Monitor - April 20, 2018
Pingback: COVD and UBI in Canada – The money should be universal says Jagmeet Singh | Job Market Monitor - April 23, 2020
Pingback: Universal Basic Income (UBI) – A primer | Job Market Monitor - April 27, 2020
Pingback: Finland’s Universal Basic Income Experiment – A small increase in employment, a huge boost to well-being | Job Market Monitor - September 17, 2020