Imagine this: as you're worried about how to pay bills and make your rent, you get a check from the government for $876. Every month.
That's what Finland is doing. The Nordic nation is getting closer this month to finalizing a solution to poverty: paying each of its 5.4 million people $876 tax-free a month — and in return, it will do away with welfare benefits, unemployment lines, and the other bureaucracy of its extensive social safety net.
The concept, called basic income, has been a popular source of debate among academics and economists for decades, though Finland would be the first nation in the European Union — and the first major nation anywhere — to actually implement the idea on a universal basis. The basic income was popularized by the economist Milton Friedman in the 1960s as a "negative income tax."
The Finnish proposal, which is still being drafted by the country's social welfare institution, Kela, would reportedly give each Finn 550 euros a month to start.
As a result, Finland would scrap nearly all of its other benefits programs. In Finland, as in the U.S., people get welfare benefits according to their incomes.
That´s great news but unfortunately it´s far from truth. As soon as this news appeared in world media our Finnish government officials rushed to inform that it´s a scam. In fact I know that there have been this kind of discussion for years already but no decisions have been made even to take this initiative to the processing of our parliament. And anyway the money (about 800 euro/month) is not enough for even paying the rent for 2 room flat in the most populated towns, so it would be very difficult to survive with such a small sum.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting us know sweet friend! It is easy to take news as truth in the way it is being delivered to us. I see the same happening with the Paris attacks.. Those far away from the scene claim false flags and events not being truthfull and taking the propaganda agenda as truth, yet those like me to Paris and you to Finland being closer to these scenes know what truly is going on. So I appreciate this by heart! Much love
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