Finland may push universal basic income plan

[ManaMan]

Bloomberg: Finns May Get Paid for Being Finns

It's an interesting concept and pilot studies for this were done in the US & Canada in the 60s and 70s with mixed results. The idea is to replace all government assistance with a set payment directly to the citizen. Everyone gets paid the same. For the poor who pay little taxes, this boosts them out of poverty. For the middle class, the payment is largely eaten up by their taxes. For the rich, the payment is negligible and they pay far more in taxes than they get from the gov. Just cutting checks removes much of the paternalism associated with traditional welfare programs. It also cuts out a massive swath of the government bureaucracy. In theory, if you set the payment equal to the poverty level, you'd eliminate poverty in your country.

This sort of thing would seem to be much easier to do in a country like Finland which already has generous government benefits. This is definitely a non-starter in the US right now (conservative heads would explode) and probably Canada as well.

[Julius Seeker]

That's very interesting. This sort of economy should work well in the coming decades in smaller and well developed countries with low industrial output.

[ManaMan]

That's very interesting. This sort of economy should work well in the coming decades in smaller and well developed countries with low industrial output.

I've heard it argued that as more and more jobs are automated, eventually all nations will have to embrace something like this.

[Shrinweck]

Step One: Robots take all the jerbs
Step Two: Universal basic income plan
Step Three: 24/7 Hedonism

Okay let's do this.

[ManaMan]

Step One: Robots take all the jerbs
Step Two: Universal basic income plan
Step Three: 24/7 Hedonism

Okay let's do this.

Isn't that the plot of the Jetsons?

[Oracle]

Step One: Robots take all the jerbs
Step Two: Universal basic income plan
Step Three: Skynet
Step Four: 24/7 Robot Hedonism

FTFY

[Zeus]

That's very interesting. This sort of economy should work well in the coming decades in smaller and well developed countries with low industrial output.

I've heard it argued that as more and more jobs are automated, eventually all nations will have to embrace something like this.

It would significantly assist with administration of stuff, that's for sure. But there are a ton of negatives with it, including:

- no one wants to give the rich more money and I can promise you, they won't be paying more taxes if it's implemented
- not all the money will actually go to the programs, which is the point of the expenditures
- even if the majority is spent, it'll likely cost more than it would if administered by the government

What we really need to do is move more towards value-added taxes (i.e. sales taxes) and away from income taxes.