Switzerland: On 05 June, Swiss citizens will decide whether or not to establish an ‘Unconditional Basic Income’

On Sunday 05 June 2016, Switzerland’s citizens will vote on an issue raised by the BIEN-CH association (Basic income Earth Network) to approve or not the introduction of an unconditional basic income (UBI) for life of CHF 2,500 per month regardless of whether the person is in work or not. Although 72% of the Swiss people have said they oppose the initiative, and in addition, the country’s National Council (government) is also not in favor of what they consider an exorbitant measure that would lead to manpower shortages and a hasty exit on the part of business, other countries including Finland, the Netherlands, and Canada have ventured on an experimental basis into a model that is increasingly becoming a topic for debate.
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Unconditional basic income for life of CHF 2,500 per month. On Sunday 05 June Switzerland’s citizens will vote for or against the creation of a UBI. Utopia or not this idea is also under discussion in other countries and in any case is a revolutionary move in so far as it overturns the traditional employer/employee relationship. The model also intends to offer a means of simplifying the overall system of benefits and social welfare payments. More concretely the BIEN-CH proposal includes:

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