Full
Disclosure
One.
I have long believed that our biggest social problem is the
obsolescence of human labor.
Two.
With a relatively minuscule developmental effort machines can be
programmed to outperform humans in most present employment
categories, from street cleaners to medical practitioners.
Three.
In the age of automation it is absolutely absurd to regard full
employment as a valid social goal.
Four.
The state guarantee to its citizens (and to residents that the
citizens accept) of a sufficient income for a comfortable existence
will be as practical and morally correct as the provisions for the
poor and for strangers were in the Law that God gave to His earthly
People, Israel.
Finland
is considering giving every citizen €800 a month
telegraph.co.uk
[/] By
Adam Boult 3:40PM GMT 06 Dec 2015 [/] http://j.mp/0NewGlean
or
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/finland/12035946/Finland-is-considering-giving-every-citizen-800-a-month.html
Under
proposals being draw up by the Finnish Social Insurance Institution
(Kela), this national basic income would replace all other
benefit payments, and would be paid to all adults regardless of
whether or not they receive any other income.
Unemployment
in Finland is currently at record levels, and the basic income is
intended to encourage more people back to work. At present,
many unemployed people would be worse off if they took on low-paid
temporary jobs due to loss of welfare payments.
More
than 10 per cent of Finland's workforce is currently unemployed,
rising to 22.7 per cent among younger workers.
According
to research commissioned by Kela, close to 69 per cent of the
Finnish population favours the idea of a national basic income.
Detractors
caution that a basic income would remove people's incentive to work
and lead to higher unemployment. Those in favour point to previous
experiments where a basic income has been successfully trialed. The
Canadian town of Dauphin experimented with a basic income guarantee
in the 1970s and the results - both social and economic - were
largely positive.
Finnish
Prime Minister Juha Sipilä supports the idea, saying: “For me, a
basic income means simplifying the social security system.”
The
basic income will cost Finland roughly €46.7 billion per year if
fully implemented. Kela's proposals are due to be submitted in
November 2016.
The
Dutch city of Utrecht is also planning to introduce a basic income,
albeit solely for welfare recipients. From next month more than 250
unemployed residents of the city will be given a monthly sum to live
on, with researchers monitoring the outcome to determine what effect
it has on employment.
Switzerland
is also considering introducing a national basic income. In
September the Swiss parliament voted, with a large majority, for a
motion calling on the Swiss people to reject the Popular Initiative
for Unconditional Basic Income. However, a nationwide referendum on
the issue is slated for 2016 and, according to a recent online poll,
49% of the Swiss would currently vote in favour of its introduction.
[My emphasis.]
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