The last few years a wide popularity finds the idea of an unconditional basic income system, implying regular fixed payments to all citizens of the country. It plans to introduce in the coming year, Finland, incidentally abolishing the current system of benefits — all citizens are free to obtain from the government of €800. In June of this year, the first national referendum on the introduction of an unconditional basic income will take place in Switzerland. One of the largest start-up Silicon valley incubator Y Combinator also intends to test the system — the organization’s President Sam Altman told about the planned experiment, in which 300 citizens just going to get the money for five years.
“The secret” tried to construct a world with absolute income.
There will be more entrepreneurs
Held in several countries, experiments on the introduction of an unconditional basic income (BDB) showed that the lack of fear of tomorrow and the need to think about where to take money for food and housing, and encourages entrepreneurship. Between 2008 and 2009 in the Namibian settlements Omitara and Otjivero in the framework of the “Basic Income Grant” all residents under the age of 60 years every month had received 100 Namibian dollars, and pensioners — 450 Namibian dollars. As a result, the number of unemployed in the village decreased by 11%. Participants have increased income, in particular, engaged in manufacture of bricks, baking bread or sewing clothes. A similar experiment was conducted, and in Uganda, despite fears that because of the unconditional income no one would work, economic activity of residents for the year increased by 17%.
People don’t want to do anything and quit your job
The effect of the introduction of BDB will many be dependent on national characteristics of people from different countries, says an analyst at research firm Demos Matt Brunig: “for Example, the French, it seems, do not like to work, so in France with BDB introduction the labour market can be reduced more than in trudogolick Japan.” With this, agree and head of the laboratory of economic behavior of the Higher school of economy Alexey Belyanin. “In terms of average income, say, in Russia, it is easy to assume that someone will behave, as a resident of Uganda in the jungle, and will become more work. And someone will behave, like a normal Russian Vanya, — go to drink, to walk, to splash out and no good to society with a rich Vani will not happen,” he says.
All will be freer and happier
BDB can make people happier in rich countries. “There’s a race model, high competition, the model of constant competition and uncertainty of the future prevents people to realize themselves as personalities. Basic income will be able to remove these frames,” says Belyanin. According to him, many Europeans live to work well, not work to live well, and this often makes them unhappy. They are accustomed to a comfortable lifestyle and having the financial confidence in the future, hardly will stop working. BDB will not be able to satisfy all their needs, but will allow you to work at your pleasure, the Professor says: “the Free world can build only a free man. Basic income is one way to boost free people”. This theory is confirmed in Germany conducted an experiment in the framework of the project Mein Grundeinkommen (“My basic income”) entrepreneur Michael Bayer 26 randomly selected Germans received €1000 Euro per month and could do with them whatever you want. The first results of the experiment, according to Bayer, only one participant spent the first thousand to the party, but there were those who money helped realize the dream — for example, participating resident of the city of münster quit my hated working in a call center and returned to school to become a kindergarten teacher.
Poverty will be defeated
“To overcome poverty by using the now widely discussed measure — income,” — said in 1967 Martin Luther king. A few years earlier, in 1962, the American economist Milton Friedman in his book “Capitalism and freedom” wrote that the minimum guaranteed income in the form of “negative income tax” may be a logical completion of the social security system. For the year of the experiment in Namibia, the proportion of people below the food poverty line fell from 76% to 37%. By the end of the second year of the experiment it decreased to 16%. In addition, thanks to the “Basic Income Grant” in the selected settlements are fewer malnourished children in just six months the number of children weighed less than normal at their age, according to the norms of the world health organization has dropped from 42% to 17%, and after six months — up to 10%.
Technological unemployment in the future will not be a problem
Due to the development of technology and widespread automation the number of jobs will decline in the future. “We are on the threshold of a time when machines will start to do the things that traditionally were done by the people. How in such conditions to avoid huge gap between rich and poor?”, asks venture capitalist albert Wenger. He and his supporters believe that BDB is a necessary measure in a world where robots perform more than half of the work. Wenger considers this income as an investment in man — in his opinion, due to absolute income, more and more people will be working on different technological projects that will give us a new generation of entrepreneurs. The rest will be able to last longer to learn and become more skilled workers, which will still be a need.
The economy will develop more effectively
Some supporters of the unconditional basic income believe that its introduction will increase the purchasing power of citizens, which will in turn stimulate the economy. Journalist Tom Streithorst argues that because technologies on the market no problems with the offer — today things you can do with the least physical and financial cost than ever before. “How to sell things — that’s what’s keeping entrepreneurs awake at to start,” he says. If robots really destroy 47% of existing jobs, the purchasing power of the citizens who have lost their jobs, will decrease even more. “Only the BDB can provide sufficient demand necessary to ensure that the global economy is not stalled,” says Streithorst. His words partly confirm the results of the experiment in Namibia — increased purchasing power through unconditional basic income promoted the development of local markets.
Taxes will increase
The main obstacle for BDB — an impossible burden on the budget of the States, ready to enter. Finnish Professor Pentti Arajarvi warned the Ministry of social Affairs and health of Finland about what this idea will cost the country’s budget, in 1998. Paying its citizens for €800, Finland will spend €52 billion each year, while the expected income from taxes in 2016 are no more than €50 billion While the BDB supporters argue that with the introduction of an unconditional income is free money left on the administration of social programs and social benefits, critics are sure that this will not be enough. “Despite the fact that the idea of an unconditional basic income is gaining popularity, I haven’t seen a single financially viable model of such a system, says Professor Vancouver school of Economics at the University of British Columbia Kevin Milligan. — Finland is going to hand out to your citizens at €800, but they collected the taxes didn’t cover the required amount. The only way to distribute €800 to double taxation”.
