Re:Finland considers basic income to reform welfare system
by mtgx on Thursday August 20, 2015 @05:31AM
(#10090776)
I agree those are all huge hurdles and it's incredibly risky, too, as it could be catastrophic if doesn't work, and you would have to cut all of those jobs, and then you also have to revert all the social programs back back. It could turn into a decade of pain for that society.
However, I think this pilot will at least tell us if a basic income works from the point of view of whether it can be sustainable on itself and whether 90% of the working people will quit working or not. Right now we have no clue whether something like that would happen or not, and it's probably the riskiest thing about a basic income - having 9 out of 10 people sit around and do nothing while the other 1 out of 10 have to support them.
If the outcome for that is a positive one and most people continue to get jobs, then we can start making a well thought-out plan on how to do the transition with the minimum damage possible to the society (until the transition is complete and then there's a net positive from the basic income for everyone).
However, I think this pilot will at least tell us if a basic income works from the point of view of whether it can be sustainable on itself and whether 90% of the working people will quit working or not. Right now we have no clue whether something like that would happen or not, and it's probably the riskiest thing about a basic income - having 9 out of 10 people sit around and do nothing while the other 1 out of 10 have to support them.
If the outcome for that is a positive one and most people continue to get jobs, then we can start making a well thought-out plan on how to do the transition with the minimum damage possible to the society (until the transition is complete and then there's a net positive from the basic income for everyone).