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Is Finland's Universal Basic Income Trial Too Good To Be True? (theguardian.com)
It was one year ago that Finland began giving money to 2,000 unemployed people -- roughly $652 a month (€560 or £475). But have we learned anything about universal basic incomes? An anonymous reader quotes the Guardian:
Amid this unprecedented media attention, the experts who devised the scheme are concerned it is being misrepresented. "It's not really what people are portraying it as," said Markus Kanerva, an applied social and behavioural sciences specialist working in the prime minister's office in Helsinki. "A full-scale universal income trial would need to study different target groups, not just the unemployed. It would have to test different basic income levels, look at local factors. This is really about seeing how a basic unconditional income affects the employment of unemployed people."
While UBI tends often to be associated with progressive politics, Finland's trial was launched -- at a cost of around €20m (£17.7m or $24.3 million) -- by a centre-right, austerity-focused government interested primarily in spending less on social security and bringing down Finland's stubborn 8%-plus unemployment rate. It has a very clear purpose: to see whether an unconditional income might incentivise people to take up paid work. Authorities believe it will shed light on whether unemployed Finns, as experts believe, are put off taking up a job by the fear that a higher marginal tax rate may leave them worse off. Many are also deterred by having to reapply for benefits after every casual or short-term contract... According to Kanerva, the core data the government is seeking -- on whether, and how, the job take-up of the 2,000 unemployed people in the trial differs from a 175,000-strong control group -- will be "robust, and usable in future economic modelling" when it is published in 2019.
Although the experiment may be impacted by all the hype it's generating, according to the Guardian. "One participant who hoped to start his own business with the help of the unconditional monthly payment complained that, after speaking to 140 TV crews and reporters from as far afield as Japan and Korea, he has simply not been able to find the time."
While UBI tends often to be associated with progressive politics, Finland's trial was launched -- at a cost of around €20m (£17.7m or $24.3 million) -- by a centre-right, austerity-focused government interested primarily in spending less on social security and bringing down Finland's stubborn 8%-plus unemployment rate. It has a very clear purpose: to see whether an unconditional income might incentivise people to take up paid work. Authorities believe it will shed light on whether unemployed Finns, as experts believe, are put off taking up a job by the fear that a higher marginal tax rate may leave them worse off. Many are also deterred by having to reapply for benefits after every casual or short-term contract... According to Kanerva, the core data the government is seeking -- on whether, and how, the job take-up of the 2,000 unemployed people in the trial differs from a 175,000-strong control group -- will be "robust, and usable in future economic modelling" when it is published in 2019.
Although the experiment may be impacted by all the hype it's generating, according to the Guardian. "One participant who hoped to start his own business with the help of the unconditional monthly payment complained that, after speaking to 140 TV crews and reporters from as far afield as Japan and Korea, he has simply not been able to find the time."
I dunno about YOU, but I'm going to see MORE back on my tax returns. And I'm not some billionaire.
No, you are simply an idiot, a liar, or a Russian troll (the latter being more probable). You will end up paying handsomely for debt service of the trillions stolen by Trump and his cronies, and your children will too, that is, if you are not too stupid to figure out how to reproduce. Is a dog biscuit now enough to convince you that it is a good idea for you and your (also stupid?) descendants to suffer thousands or millions of dollars of future losses?
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
No. The tax cuts are going away. It's a REPUBLICAN tax plan. They are the ones who drafted it in secret and rammed it thru. YOUR tax cuts are going away. TRUMP's tax cuts are in place forever. Anything else you are thinking is "alternate facts".
And certain people are going to jail, hopefully including Trump and his spawn.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
Most European countries are not living up to their defense obligations, relying upon the US to backstop them. That isn't a trivial matter.
Here is an interesting read: If Sweden and Germany Became US States, They Would be Among the Poorest States
Many European nations are endangering their future with the policy choices they are currently making. In 30 years it is possible that Europe will be almost unrecognizable, including the country you live in. Demographic decline, immigration, the EU is under great strain already and the heavy hand of Eurocrats may push other countries to leave the UE. Russia is resurgent, Eastern Europe is terrified, and Western Europe is intent on suicide it seems.
Be sure to turn off the light before you go.
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell