by Karl Widerquist | Apr 24, 2016 | News
According to Basic Income Switzerland, just five weeks before Switzerland holds the world’s first vote on the introduction of an Unconditional Basic Income (UBI), support for the policy has almost doubled since the beginning of the year. This increase is the opposite of the usual trend in Switzerland where initiatives tend to decline in popularity in the weeks before a referendum.
Over all, around 40% of people stated they would vote “Yes” on the UBI referendum to be held this June. And in the French-speaking part of Switzerland a majority of respondents now favor UBI. The polling data has been collected and assessed by a cooperation of leading Swiss newspapers.
Swiss poll summary -Basic Income Switerland
For more information see:
Basic Income Switzerland, “Basic Income Vote in 5 Weeks: Sensational New Polling Results” Basic Income Swizterland, April 23, 2016
by Stanislas Jourdan | Apr 18, 2016 | News
Ahead of the national referendum taking place early in June, the Swiss city of Lausanne has adopted a motion to test a basic income and assess the effects of the policy.
Will Lausanne be the first city in Switzerland to test a basic income? It is possible. Last Tuesday, April 12th, the City Council took an important first step, when it adopted a motion (pdf) aimed at running a basic income experiment. This non legally-binding motion – which asks the Executive Council of the Municipality to implement a pilot – passed by a close margin (39 votes in favor versus 37 against, with 8 abstentions).
The motion has received significant support from the Green Party. It was originally tabled by Green Party member Laurent Rebeaud, who passed away in December. Léonore Porchet, President of the Lausanne Green Party, says, “Basic income offers a solid and securing social floor, as opposed to the fragile social safety net that we know today. The freedom provided by basic income encourages activity, social inclusion and innovation. In addition it values and support the ‘free’ work such as volunteer activities.”
Recent polls conducted in Switzerland bolster Porchet’s contention that a basic income would “encourage activity” rather than subsidize laziness, as some detractors fear. These polls conclude that only 2% of Swiss people would stop working if they had a basic income, while 22% would become entrepreneurs and 54% would take opportunities to improve their qualifications.
Although the Lausanne City Council’s motion remains vague about the specifics of the experiment, it proposes that it should be monitored in cooperation with the University of Lausanne, in a way similar to the basic income pilot planned for the Dutch city of Utrecht, which is being developed in collaboration with the University of Utrecht. Lausanne is a city of 130,000 inhabitants located in the French speaking region of Switzerland. However, the experiment would include only a sample of the population.
To run the experiment, the city will need financial support from the Canton and the Confederation. However, this is likely to be feasible, as it should not incur more costs than the existing budget for social benefits.
The Lausanne experiment’s main goal would be to assess how work incentives change depending on the conditions for receiving social benefits, as Porchet explains on the website of the local section of the Green Party.
Picture CC Alice
by Stanislas Jourdan | Apr 8, 2016 | News
Ahead of the national referendum taking place next June 5th in Switzerland, basic income activists are aiming at creating the World’s biggest poster with basic income slogan on it. They need 180,000 to make it happen.
An historical campaign is happening in Switzerland right now. While the whole country will vote on basic income on June, an unprecedented level of campaign activities, events and press coverage are happening.
Now the famous Basel-based group Generation Grundeinkommen (Generation Basic Income) is taking the challenge to the next level by attempting to break the Guinness-World-Record for the largest poster on earth.
The activists want to print a massive 7500m2 poster (as large a soccer field), on which it will be written: “WHAT WOULD YOU WORK ON, IF FOR YOU YOUR INCOME WAS TAKEN CARE OF?”
Big questions deserve big poster
The poster aims at raising attention on basic income ahead of the referendum, explains the activist: “Good questions are the best answers. So let’s step forward asking the biggest question on Earth.”
The poster will be displayed in mid May. “We have several places in mind. One possible option is the Plain Palais in Geneva. This is a big space in the middle of the city with flea-markets and carnivals. It’s a space made for the people which suits our initiative.” The definite location will be communicated through their startnext-page.
Big questions also imply big numbers. To make this happen, the organisers are pledging 180,000 euros on a crowdfunding platform. Already 100,000 euros have been collected thanks to 600 donators. They still need to cover 40% of their funding need (105k euros) by April 24th. To make the operation financially less costly and environment-friendly, the poster material will be manufactured into carry-bags and backpack afterwards.
The campaigning group is experienced with large and successful street happenings. In 2013, they famously dumped 8 millions 5 pennies coins on the Parliament’s Square in Bern, which massively contributed to promoting basic income worldwide.
“Our Question deserves to get the biggest on earth. And all of you can carry it together with us. So get your question bag or your world record-backpack and help us to bring the biggest question on earth all over our lovely planet!”
You can make a donation from www.startnext.com/groesstefrage
by Kate McFarland | Apr 4, 2016 | News
Swiss government has released a new report showing the implementation of a basic income in Switzerland would cost far less than it had previously anticipated.
On March 11th, the Swiss Ministry of Social Security released a new calculation of the cost of a universal basic income. According to the latest estimates, a UBI would cost the country only 25 billion Swiss francs. This is substantial revision from previous estimates, which had put the cost as high as 154 billion Swiss francs.
The revised calculation will likely increase the appeal of a UBI as the country approaches a referendum election on June 5th, in which a basic income is one of five propositions that will be voted on.
According to the basic income proponents in Switzerland, the introduction of a basic income would only cost 2 billion francs.
Reference:
“Swiss Government Reveals New Basic Income Calculations,” 17 March 2016, Basic Income Switzerland. (The article includes link to the official document, in German.)
Image Credit: “Shifting to Francs” by Storm Crypt (Flickr, creative commons), 6 April 2009.
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by Kate McFarland | Mar 30, 2016 | News
Gerd Leonhard, the acclaimed futurist speaker and author, believes that a Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) might be a necessary consequence of increased automation.
Last February, Hank Pellissier of the Institute of Ethics & Emerging Technologies interviewed Leonhard on his “opinions and forecasts” regarding BIG.
In the brief interview, Leonhard discusses the conditions that he sees as prerequisites for the adoption of a BIG, concluding that “a basic income guarantee is only possible once we unbundle work money, and once the traditional mantra of profit and growth at all costs has collapsed.” He is optimistic that, eventually, societies will assume this post-capitalist outlook.
After addressing questions on BIG-related topics, including Switzerland’s basic income referendum and technological unemployment, Leonhard broaches the idea of “automation tax,” which “companies would pay for each job replaced by a machine.” In Leonhard’s view, an automation tax may be an effective means of providing governments with money to reinvest in “creating a flourishing society and allowing for human happiness.”
Read the interview here:
Hank Pellissier, “Basic Income Guarantee will allow us to move the Maslow Pyramid – interview with Gerd Leonhard”. Institute of Ethics & Emerging Technologies, February 7th 2016.
For more about Gerd Leonhard, including videos and descriptions of speaking topics, see his website.
Image credit: ictQATAR
