19 December 2016

Finland will test giving people a free "basic income"









  1. Usually here in Finland inflation is taken in to consideration by tying the amount to an index that follows the purchasing power of the average consumer. I glanced through the Parliament meeting notes about this issue, but there's no mention on inflation. My guess that's out of scope for this experiment. The biggest motivation for this experiment is the disincentive effect, or "income trap" like we call it. For example a family of two unemployed persons getting a temp job that nets a thousand euros would cause them to lose two thousand in benefits. With all the ifs and buts added to this experiment, this experiment will make only a tiny dent in that trap.

    1. My question re inflation is not how a program would be adjusted for inflation, but rather how a (theoretical) country-wide program might cause inflation. If everyone has additional income, the tendency would be for prices to rise.

      And regarding this -

      As I read the article it seems to say that this will not be the case for the persons enrolled in this test program. ??

    2. The experiment is an additional benefit that is reduced from whatever you're getting now. So the example family would lose everything up to the basic income level ie to the 560€ mark. Less, but still quite a lot if you're high on benefits.

      If implemented, the goal of the final implementation is that it's cost neutral, so it would have winners and losers. The example family for instance would get a lot less in the first place while a poor single student would get a raise. So the effect on inflation should be minimal. But I'm not an economist

  2. I'm guessing the experiment involves the levels of basic income received, starting just above starvation level up to happy and sh!tfaced every day.

    To think societies could dramatically improve within a single generation, by imposing a few allegedly unethical restrictions on procreation. Soon when we have robotic assembly lines, waiters, drivers and ditch-diggers and as well as adult entertainment CGI.

    Current taxation systems, and shackles of state debt are entirely incompatible with the Star Trek future of self-improvement.

    Never mind base income, how about not having to pay for living for starters, like health insurance, rent and education. In American and in globalized reality we see the opposite trend: After student debt we'll see school debt soon, while kindergartens are already self financed by advertisement, religious indoctrination, recruitment basically the long-con of the various faith systems. Meanwhile jobs and internships without functioning unions, already are not unlike indentured servitude.


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