part of me wants to write the essay on how universal healthcare and mincome (and taxing the rich) would fix the economy (well, the US econ at least, it wouldnt work as well in countries that cant just "print all the money they need" like the US can)
but it would be really fucking long & im not sure i have the energy atm
but at least we're tariffing the penguins and polar bears!!
The four political party leaders in PEI unanimously supported the decision to establish a program that would guarantee all citizens a basic income.
The government of Prince Edward Island (PEI) has taken a major step forward toward the implementation of a universal basic income (UBI) for citizens of the small Canadian province as state legislature has approved the proposed initiative.
The four political party leaders in PEI unanimously supported the decision to work with the country’s government to establish a hopefully successful pilot program that could lower poverty, improve health, reduce crime, and raise education levels. Successfully passing the legislation is just the beginning, however. They now have to bring the system to reality and successfully implement it.
Despite this challenge, PEI legislators are optimistic about the initiative’s potential for success. “People that are taken out of poverty or given a means by which they can survive and really thrive in life tend to move on to do great things in life and really focus on the things they want to do,” Liberal Charlottetown-Brighton MLA Jordan Brown told CBC News.
Finland has become the first country in Europe to pay its unemployed citizens a basic monthly income, amounting to 560 euros ($797), in a unique social experiment which is hoped to cut government red tape, reduce poverty and boost employment.
Olli Kangas from the Finnish government agency KELA, which is responsible for the country’s social benefits, said Monday that the two-year trial with the 2,000 randomly picked citizens who receive unemployment benefits kicked off Jan. 1.
Those chosen will receive 560 euros every month, with no reporting requirements on how they spend it. The amount will be deducted from any benefits they already receive.
The average private sector income in Finland is 3,500 euros per month, according to official data.
Kangas said the scheme’s idea is to abolish the “disincentive problem” among the unemployed.
The trial aims to discourage people’s fears “of losing out on something”, he said, adding that the selected persons would continue to receive the 560 euros even after receiving a job.
A jobless person may currently refuse a low-income or short-term job in the fear of having his financial benefits reduced drastically under Finland’s generous but complex social security system.
Finland’s two-year test of universal basic income has concluded that it doesn't seem to disincentivise working, and improves recipients’ mental and financial well-being
Sidenote: if we had UBI, wouldn’t companies just raise the price of everything and justify it by saying (most) people can still choose to work to earn more?
Un experiment sociologic în acțiune: Mincome (venitul minim garantat)
Un experiment sociologic în acțiune: Mincome (venitul minim garantat)
Credit: Bobak Ha’Eri/Wikimedia, licența CC BY 3.0
(Mincome a fost un experiment la scară largă efectuat în Dauphin, Manitoba, între 1974 și 1979, pentru a explora efectul existenței unui venit anual garantat universal asupra stimulentelor pentru muncă și a altor indicatori sociali.)
Un exemplu din viața reală va ajuta la ilustrarea procesului experimental în sociologie. Între 1974 și 1979 a fost…