海角大神

Guaranteed basic income? Why Switzerland said 'No thanks'

A majority of Swiss voters rejected a basic income initiative Sunday, which would have provided a monthly income of 2,500 Swiss francs ($2,563) of all citizens, regardless of employment.

Almost 80 percent of Swiss voters rejected a guaranteed monthly income Sunday.

Under the proposal, Swiss adults would receive a government check of ($2,563) each month, and children under the age of 18 would receive a check worth 625 francs. Although the proposal had almost no political support, it gathered more than 100,000 signatures, so it was put to a public vote under Switzerland鈥檚 popular initiative political system.

The idea of providing a basic income guarantee, or BIG, has held currency on the political left for decades. More recently, some libertarians have also embraced the idea, seeing it as a cheaper, more efficient alternative to the current welfare state.聽

鈥淲ouldn鈥檛 it be better just to scrap the whole system and write the poor a check?鈥� Matt Zwolinski, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of San Diego, writes in an essay for the Cato Institute. 鈥淯nlike other welfare programs which encourage or require recipients to consume certain specific kinds of good 鈥� such as聽medical care,聽housing, or聽food聽鈥� a BIG , and leaves them free to spend it, or save it, in whatever way they choose.鈥�

Proponents also say a BIG would ensure a passionate workforce, innovation, and suitable working conditions. 聽

鈥淎n entrepreneur can now be sure that people will come to her because they actually want to work with her. Motivation will become a prerequisite for a job application,鈥� write Enno Schmidt and Che Wagner, co-designers of the Swiss referendum initiative for an unconditional basic income, . 鈥淭he applicant can also say no to unappealing job offers more easily. The threat of taking away a person鈥檚 livelihood can no longer be used as a means to force employees to work under bad conditions.鈥�

But the majority of Switzerland doesn鈥檛 buy this argument and are instead wary of the idea, believing it would cripple the Swiss economy by eliminating all motivation to work.

鈥淚f you pay people to do nothing, ,鈥� Charles Wyplosz, an economics professor at the Geneva Graduate Institute, told AFP.

And other opponents say a guaranteed basic income would cause international implications.

鈥淭heoretically, if Switzerland were an island, ,鈥� Luzi Stamm, who opposes the idea as a member of parliament for the right-wing Swiss People鈥檚 Party, tells the BBC. 鈥淏ut with open borders, it鈥檚 a total impossibility, especially for Switzerland, with a high living standard.

"If you would offer every individual a Swiss amount of money," he said, "you would have billions of people who would try to move into Switzerland.鈥�

Compared to its European counterparts, Switzerland鈥檚 economy is faring well. Switzerland had an unemployment rate of as of April, far below the Eurozone average of .

Finland and the Netherlands, with current unemployment rates of and percent respectively, are launching similar trial programs in the near future. Switzerland is the first country to put the concept up for popular vote.

The Finnish experiment will take place in 2017, with 180,000 Fins receiving a basic income of 500 to 700 euros a month. This may seem like a generous right for Finnish citizens to assume, but it is actually far less than the current average income of 2,700 euros in Finland. And under the Netherlands鈥� experiment set to take place starting January 1, 2017, four varieties of a basic income system will be tested among thousands of citizens and later compared to the current system.

But campaigners of Switzerland鈥檚 basic income system said they anticipated defeat.聽

鈥淔or centuries this has been considered a utopia, but today ,鈥� Ralph Kundig, a lead campaigner, told AFP. And while the initiatives slim chances were obvious, 鈥渏ust getting a broad public debate started on this important issue is a victory.鈥澛�