If passed, all Swiss citizens, working or unemployed, would receive about $2,500 a month

as a guaranteed stipend from the government. Switzerland would become the first country

in the world to implement such an idea. So, should governments pay their citizens a basic

income?

Well, there are a large number of variations on the idea of a basic income. Some forms

already exist as Social Security for the elderly or impoverished. Others see this in the form

of government benefits and assistance, also called “welfare”. But “basic income”

is an unconditional amount of money guaranteed by the government, to every individual whether

rich or poor.

Proponents of basic income, like the Basic Income Earth Network, say that such security

would give people freedom to pursue higher interests, without having to worry as much

about pure survival. This is tied to a concept proposed by psychologist Abraham Maslow’s

“hierarchy of needs”. That’s where a person will value their physical needs over

their safety needs, safety over relationships, relationships over self-esteem, and so on.

Eliminating the barrier of working for strictly physical and safety reasons is believed to

lead to a more utopian society. This also addresses the idea of “wage slavery”,

where a person only works for their most basic and immediate survival, making it impossible

to stop working, or escape a bad job.

However, those who oppose basic income say that such a plan would encourage people not

to work, similar to many other arguments against government assistance. An experimental form

of basic income was introduced in one Canadian city in 1974, and ran for five years. An analysis

revealed that only two groups of laborers saw significant drop offs: teenagers and new

mothers. And since teenagers were no longer pressured to work, a larger number graduated.

The basic income also led to fewer hospital visits, due to a lack of work-related injuries,

and fewer mental health, domestic abuse, and car accident victims.

However, some economists argue that it would lead to a loss of low-paid workers. If everyone

was able to survive, undesirable jobs like in manufacturing and service would go away.

This could lead to a rise in the cost of most goods without a source of cheap labor to produce

them. Perhaps ironically, this would prevent those only receiving a basic income from affording

those same goods.

Moreover, one economic journalist estimated that basic income in the UK could cost as

much as $450 billion dollars a year, compared to the $250 billion dollars which their welfare

system currently costs. However, advocates say that if implemented correctly, basic income

could be a cheaper solution than allocating welfare according to how poor or able a citizen

is.

But Switzerland is not like other countries. It is one of the richest in the world, with

an extremely low tax rate. Even a slight increase in taxes could be tolerable to many citizens,

and provide for a much less “immediate needs” focused society. But it will take until June

to see whether most Swiss residents agree with that analysis.

In the US Presidential election, candidate Bernie Sanders has been asked about implementing

basic income. But instead, Senator Sanders has advocated for raising the minimum wage.

Should we raise the minimum wage? Check out this video to find out Thanks for watching

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