by Hilde Latour | Sep 22, 2016 | News
On the first day of International Basic Income week and just six months before the election of a new House of Representatives (“tweede kamer”) in March of next year, a debate on unconditional Basic Income was held in the Dutch parliament on September 19th. This debate was initiated by Member of Parliament Norbert Klein of the Cultural Liberal Party (Vrijzinnige Partij), who wrote a ‘note of initiative’ (“initiatiefnota”) in January this year, called “Certainly Flexible: about thinking differently about work and social security with an unconditional basic income”
Klein asked for three things:
1. The government’s reaction
The Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Lodewijk Assher (Labour Party, PvdA), answered in writing on May 31st, that introducing a basic income is simply too expensive as the number of people paying taxes will decrease dramatically.
In addition to the economic arguments against a Basic Income, the Minister states: Having a job is more than having an income. (…) A job offers people a social network, structure in life, self esteem and personal development.” That participation in (paid) labour is good for everyone, is the broadly supported position of the Dutch government. This is what Klein refers to as a “one size fits all” policy.
In this context it is worth noting that in the current Dutch participation legislation (“participatiewet”), people are not allowed to choose the job or activities they like. The government decides which work is suitable, prohibiting many kinds and types of participation with extremely high penalties for people who participate in other activities without specific permission of the (local) government. There is very little freedom of choice and many people report to be forced into meaningless jobs. The Minister refers to this policy as “support with an activating character”.
Apparently the characterization “one size fits all” for the current policy hurts, because the minister bounces it back at Klein, by saying that a basic income is a “one size fits all” idea. He states that in case of an unconditional basic income, every citizen would receive the same income support, even if they don’t need it. He ignores the fact that the richer part of the population would be paying back most of it through taxes as was indicated by Klein in his note of initiative.
He also ignores the fact that people will regain their freedom of choice to either participate in (paid or non-paid) labour, education, caring roles or anything else that helps them create structure in their lives, build social networks, and nurture self esteem or personal development.
Furthermore, the Minister argues that European legislation might be a roadblock on the way to implementing a Basic Income in the Netherlands. However, no definite answer is given about this possible hurdle, nor is the minister referring to any specific European legislation that might stand in the way of implementing a Basic Income in The Netherlands.
During the meeting the Minister confirms he is not in favour of new research, as enough research has been done. He indicates the possibility that the House of Representatives would have to order an investigation by itself.
2. More extended research on the effect of a basic income on the state’s budget
Klein states, the research on the impact on the state’s budget done so far, has been incomplete regarding the domains in which the effect of basic income can be expected. He questions the conclusions of previous research on the effect of a Basic Income on the state’s budget and formulates a list of examples of positive side effects that were not included in the calculations (i.e. effect on health, housing market, executional costs, increased entrepreneurship and participation in labour). He asks for new research where these effects will be included.
3. A debate in the House of Representatives
During the meeting of the Committee of Social Affairs and Employment on September 19th, seven political parties of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament were represented: Socialist Party (SP), Green Left (GL), Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Democrats 66 (D66), Labour Party (PvdA) and of course Klein / Cultural Liberal Party (Vrijzinnige Partij).
The main decision to be made during the debate: Is the House of Representatives willing to order an investigation by the Central Planning Agency (CPB) and the Socio-Cultural Planning Agency (SCP) for an explorative study on the financial / socio-economic as well as the behavioral aspects of an unconditional basic income?
The VVD is firmly against a basic income, where in the past the option was openly supported by the VVD-Minister of Economic Affairs, Gerrit Zalm. An unconditional Basic Income is an unfair solution according to the right wing-party nowadays, arguing as follows: the working part of the population pays for the people sitting at home. It is senseless, anti social and unaffordable. What if everyone chooses to do fun things instead of going to work? The effect of an unconditional Basic Income will be less participation in labour, resulting in a decrease in tax-income. We already have too many regulations that discourage people to go to work. Freedom of choice for people that is paid by others is not a dream but a nightmare. No further research is needed according to the VVD.
All other parties first have questions about the note of initiative and ask for further information. What will happen to the current social security system, what will be the cost of a basic income and how will it be financed?
In response to these questions, Klein hands out an estimate of the cost (130 billion euros) of implementing an unconditional Basic Income of 800 euros per person and a proposal of how this could be financed. He also alters his initial inclusion criterion for a basic income (living 10 years in the Netherlands) towards people with a Dutch residence permit. He emphasizes the starting point is a positive image of citizens, where most people want to participate in society in a good way. A basic Income should be seen as a springboard, not a safety net. He states that unpaid work can be as beneficial for society as paid work.
Green Left is the party most positive towards researching the effects of a Basic Income, but does not support the idea of an income guaranteed for everyone. Green Left is in favour of a looser link between work and income but wants different options to be investigated, e.g. Basic Income, negative income tax and dividend on robotics.
All parties, except the VVD, asked for a suspension of the meeting to another date to be able to study Kleins’ financial proposal. A date will be chosen during the next meeting of the committee.
To be continued…
Info and links
A report of the meeting can be found here (in Dutch)
Both letters (Klein’s note of initiative and Assher’s response) can be found here (in Dutch).
Related Basic Income News articles:
NETHERLANDS: Basic Income debated for first time in Parliament
[Hilde Latour]
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS: Expert Meeting on “Sense (and Nonsense) of a Basic Income”
[Florie Barnhoorn]
Special thanks to Josh Martin, and Cameron McLeod for reviewing this article.
Cover photo:
Meeting of Committee of Social Affairs and Employment – Hilde Latour 19 sep 2016
by Hilde Latour | Sep 12, 2016 | News
THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS: Convocation Meeting Committee of Social Affairs and Employment about the note of initiative of Norbert Klein: “Certainly Flexible: about thinking differently about work and social security with an unconditional basic income” (Sep 19)
[Hilde Latour]
For the first time in the nation’s history, a debate on unconditional basic income will be held in the Dutch Parliament this month.
This debate, which will take place in the meeting of the Committee of Social Affairs and Employment, will be crucial in determining the direction and timeline for the future of unconditional basic income in the Netherlands. The country’s upcoming experiments will focus only on a selection of the population of those dependent on social welfare; thus, what they are testing is more like a reform of the welfare system, incorporating some aspects of basic income, than a full-fledged universal basic income.
Norbert Klein
In January this year, Member of Parliament Norbert Klein of the Cultural Liberal Party (Vrijzinnige Partij) wrote a ‘note of initiative’ (“initiatiefnota”) to the Dutch Parliament, asking for a serious and open debate about the idea of a basic income for all above 18 years of age (who have lived in The Netherlands for more than 10 years). He also asked Parliament for further research on the topic and a reaction to his letter by the government, a coalition between the left-wing Labour Party (PvdA) and the right-wing People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
Lodewijk Assher
The latter request was fulfilled in May of this year. The Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Lodewijk Assher (PvdA) answered in writing: “The introduction of an unconditional basic income is not a realistic and economic achievable goal.” However, there might still be a chance to further investigate the option of an unconditional basic income. This is one topic to be discussed and debated during the Committee meeting on September 19th.
To be continued…
Info and links
If you want to witness this discussion, you are welcome to do so, as the meeting is open to public. It will take place on September 19th from 13:00-18:00 (GMT+2), during the meeting of the Committee of Social Affairs and Employment in the Thorbeckezaal of the Dutch Houses of Parliament, Lange Poten 2511, The Hague (bring your passport). The meeting can also be followed via livestreaming.
Both letters (Klein’s’ memorandum of initiative and Assher’s’ response) can be found here (in Dutch).
A Basic Income News article written by Florie Barnhoorn addressing a public debate on this topic can be found here.
Special thanks to Josh Martin and Kate McFarland for reviewing this article.
Cover photo: Dutch Parliament Buildings CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Pieter Musterd
by Florie Barnhoorn | Jul 30, 2016 | News
Highlights from the first half of 2016
The early days of 2016 brought a pleasant surprise for the Vereniging Basisinkomen (VBi; Association for a Basic Income), the Dutch branch of BIEN, which celebrated its 25 year anniversary in January. The political leader of the small Cultural Liberal Party, Norbert Klein, initiated a memorandum for the Members of The Tweede Kamer (Second Chamber) of Parliament. “The labour market is changed fundamentally. The introduction of new, innovative concepts like a basic income are urgently needed to prevent large scale social inequality, social unrest and to provide income protection,” he argued in his memo called Zeker Flexibel (Security and Flexibility). This was the first time since the 2000s that the highest political levels were challenged to discuss basic income.
However, the Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, Lodewijk Asscher (of the Partij van de Arbeid or Labour Party) said that although he recognizes the importance of a social and political debate on the future shape of social systems, I’m sure having some great lobbying tips would help in these efforts. He prefers to continue with the existing policy, because he cannot guarantee that areas such as healthcare and social participation would be secured after the introduction of a basic income.
According to Guy Standing at the opening of the 16th World Congress of BIEN, held in Seoul 7-9 July 2016, the best way to attract the attention of politicians is to highlight the growth of the precariat and the growth of related social unrest. The unconditional basic income (UBI) is the most practical, feasible and positively inspiring response to those problems for years to come.
A recent poll by Dalia Research found that 68% of people across all 28 EU member states said they would definitely or probably vote for a universal basic income proposal.
In recent years, the VBi too witnessed an increasing interest in the idea of a basic income, not only among the general public but also in the media. The association increased from a handful of older members in 1991 to a robust movement with more than 500 subscribers both young and elderly. This growing awareness has compelled the VBi to think about new strategies to spread the message: the implementation of an UBI in The Netherlands.
One of these strategies is the establishment of so-called ‘Basisteams’ (Basic teams), local groups who have the important task to inform people and to raise enthusiasm among the population for the advantages of a basic income. Full knowledge of the concept of a UBI is a prerequisite that must lead to political decision-making and acceptance.
Nowadays there are about ten active groups and eight more groups in the pipeline. The groups differ considerably in size and scope. Some are large and put their focus on the organisation of meetings and debates; others are smaller, more regionally oriented. Mostly they start with making a page on Facebook. They come together in the local pub or community centre, hand out pamphlets and deliberate about how to change old systems into something entirely new. The vice-president of the VBi coordinates the ‘Basic teams’.
A crucial achievement of the local groups is that they have convinced municipalities to start experiments with a basic income in their communities.
Utrecht Sunset CC Tambako The Jaguar (flickr)
The pilot in Utrecht among welfare beneficiaries, conceived mainly with the intention to get rid of the sanctions and the obligation to apply for jobs under the current welfare scheme, is set for January 2017. Another four experiments — in Wageningen, Tilburg, Groningen and Nijmegen — will follow as soon as the Secretary of State for Social Affairs and Employment, Jetta Klijnsma (Labour Party), has finalized the administrative decree for allowing experiments in the context of the welfare system.
More experiments will follow as long as basic teams continue to push the local authorities to start pilots with a basic income. Often, these groups are helped by the Dutch Green party, not only on a local level, but also on the national level. In November 2015, the Green Party succeeded in clearing the way for experiments by filing a motion to parliament. It was supported by all political parties, except those of the right-wing liberals of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the populist Freedom Party of Geert Wilders.
The VBi has also called upon its active members to reach out to co-fighters within their political parties and labour unions and to start discussions during meetings and congresses. As a result, some political parties have positively responded to the idea of a basic income as a social agenda for the sake of the general welfare and against precarious conditions and growing inequality.
After the Green Party and the Democrats 66, the majority (61%) of the Partij van de Arbeid (Labour Party) recently voted for a large experiment with a basic income. The leadership is not yet convinced, but members are very committed to the idea of a basic income and they want the issue to play a major role in the forthcoming campaign for the national elections of March 2017. “A basic income as part of the modern welfare state becomes more and more the ultimate goal for people. A society that includes everyone and where everybody contributes according to their capacities and needs: paid work, volunteering, education, the establishment of a company, et cetera,” says VBi’s most active member in political lobbying.
Many voters of the far left (Socialist Party) endorse the idea of a basic income. However, the leadership has firmly rejected it. Hence the party decided not to adopt it.
Last June, the youth organisation of Democrats 66 passed a policy framework “Moedig Voorwaarts” (Courageous Forward) that states that every adult will receive €600 – €1200 per month and each child €300. The proposal guarantees that nobody will live in poverty. The creation of a basic income is to also be combined with tax reforms.
Last spring a National Poll was held about the following question:
Everyone receives a basic income from the government, regardless of other income and without the obligation to work. The system of taxes and benefits will be adjusted accordingly. Do you find this a good idea?
The results were encouraging: 40% of those surveyed said they are in favour of a basic income as described in the poll, 45% said they are against it and 15% didn’t know.
Most members of right-wing parties declared themselves to be against the idea: 73% of right wing liberals and 61% of the Christian Democrats. Supporters and opponents were roughly in balance among the supporters of Democrats 66: 44% and 45% respectively. Most voters of three left-wing parties were in favour: 60% of the Green party, 54% of the Socialist Party, and 53% of the Labour Party. Interestingly, voters of the populist right-wing Party of Freedom of Geert Wilders were divided: 37% were in favour of the idea, 46% were against it and 17% did not know.
In the Netherlands, people are beginning to recognize that a basic income, as an unconditional floor under the existing welfare state, could be very beneficial for us all by opening up new ways to end inequality, provide stability and freedom to choose. This is especially true for welfare claimants. In recent months, the labour union FNV (Dutch Federation of Trade Unions) organised two rounds of policy debates about basic income with more than 1000 welfare claimants, who are members of an affiliate union. Most of them were in favour of introducing a basic income, because it guarantees financial security, more freedom and less stress. Further, these beneficiaries call upon the FNV Congress 2017 to adopt a proposition stating that the implementation of a basic income will be an explicit trade union objective.
The appetite for such initiatives is also fuelled out of frustration with workfare programmes that turned out to be “hugely expensive and humiliating for those involved”, says Rutger Bregman, the author of Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income.
Rutger Bregman CC Bond van Nederlandse Architecten (flickr)
Andy Stern, the former president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents nearly 2 million American workers, puts it like this in a conversation with Bourree Lam about his book Raising the Floor: “What I’m hoping for is that unions can look up from the defensive crouch they’re in, look into the future, and understand that so many of the things they’re doing now that are enormously important could be very insufficient. And that they’ll begin to think of universal basic income …”
In Christian circles one also hears people making a strong case for basic income. On the website of the Christian union for employees, employers and the self-employed (CGMV), a staff member reacts to the biblical directive that “He who does not work, shall not eat”. In an article with the title “Is everyone entitled to a basic income?”, referring to the many volunteers in organisations that have replaced paid workers, he asks: How then should we interpret another biblical text that says that “a labourer deserves his wages”? How can these volunteers get money to buy food? And how can we defend this attitude towards people who have tried to get a job so hard, but who did not succeed in finding one and who have to deal with rules that cripple their capabilities and creativity?
And there are more projects going on in the Netherlands that draw attention to basic income. A group of citizens has launched a big digital campaign to collect at least 40.000 signatures for the introduction of an unconditional basic income for every adult in 2018. The Parliament is legally obliged to discuss and vote on a topic, once it has been undersigned by more than 40.000 Dutch individuals. Right now (11-07-2016) the counter stands at 51.780 signatures. On to the 100.000! The more signatures, the stronger our voice! See https://basisinkomen2018.nl/.
In April an anchor woman of RTL-Z, an affiliate of the RTL Group (an European entertainment network) in the Netherlands, started the “Basic Income Bullshit Bingo Pot“: every time someone uses the words ‘basic income’ in a wrong way — that is, other than in the sense of an individual, universal, unconditional basic income that is high enough for a dignified life — he or she has to pay a Euro. The pot for the Euro donations can be found here: https://basisinkomen.eu/donatie-aan-vereniging-basisinkomen/.
In May, ‘Haagse Anne‘ (a young woman, artist and living in The Hague) received the second crowd funded basic income for a year. No strings attached! Liesbeth van Tongeren, Member of Parliament for the Green Party, handed her a symbolic plaque. The second publicly financed basic income is an initiative of MIES (Maatschappij voor Innovatie van Economie en Samenleving, a.k.a. Community for the Innovation of Economy and Society).
Another project of MIES, ‘OnsBasisinkomen’ (OurBasicIncome), can be found on this page. Readers are asked to tell what they would do if they were to receive a basic income tomorrow. So far, over 1800 Dutch people have told their story, of which 600 responses have been scientifically analysed. Two provisional findings emerged from the survey: people are not lazy and social participation is a multifaceted concept.
I cannot wait until the next report for this big news: Just a few days ago, the Financiële Dagblad (Financial Journal) announced that four municipalities will get the freedom to experiment with fewer regulations under the existing social welfare schemes. Some of the benefit claimants will be temporarily relieved of the duty to apply for jobs or to follow a reintegration program. Others may earn a bit without having their payment reduced from their benefits. The Secretary of State for Social Affairs and Employment, Jetta Klijnsma, has now agreed because the scientific assessment framework – a partnership between the four major cities and four collaborating universities – is now ready. If after the summer recess the Council of Ministers and the First and Second Chamber quickly agree, the cities of Utrecht, Tilburg, Groningen and Wageningen can start with the experiments in January 2017.
Authors: Florie Barnhoorn, Adriaan Planken
