Universal basic income seems to improve employment and wellbeing - UBI is better than unemployment according to the author

Universal basic income seems to improve employment and wellbeing

Finland’s two-year test of universal basic income has concluded that it doesn't seem to disincentivise working, and benefits recipients’ mental and financial wellbeing

www.newscientist.com

https://archive.vn/XkD0p

The world’s most robust study of universal basic income has concluded that it benefits recipients’ mental and financial wellbeing, as well as modestly improving employment.

Finland ran a two-year universal basic income study in 2017 and 2018, during which the government gave 2000 unemployed people aged 25 to 58 monthly payments with no strings attached.

The payments of €560 per month were not means tested and were unconditional, meaning they were not reduced if an individual got a job or later had a pay rise. The study was nationwide and selected recipients were not able to opt out, as the test was written into legislation.

Minna Ylikännö at the Social Insurance Institution of Finland announced the findings in Helsinki today via livestream.

The study compared the employment and wellbeing of basic income recipients to a control group of 173,000 people who were on unemployment benefits.

Between November 2017 and October 2018, people on basic income worked an average of 78 days, which was six days more than those on unemployment benefits.

There was a greater increase in employment for people in families with children, as well as those whose first language was not Finnish or Swedish – but the researchers aren’t yet sure why.

When surveyed, people who received universal basic income instead of regular unemployment benefits reported better financial wellbeing, mental health and cognitive functioning, as well as higher levels of confidence in the future.

When asked whether basic income could help people dealing with situations such as the economic fallout of the covid-19 pandemic, Ylikännö said that it could help alleviate stress at an uncertain time.

“I think it would bring people security in very insecure situations when they don’t know whether they’re going to have an income,” she said.

The data suggests that basic income doesn’t seem to disincentivise people working.

However, the effect of basic income was complicated by legislation known as the “activation model”, which the Finnish government introduced at the beginning of 2018. It made the conditions for accessing unemployment benefits stricter.

The timing made it difficult to separate the effects of the basic income experiment from the policy change, said Ylikännö. “We can only say that the employment effect that we observed was as a joint result of the experiment and activation model,” she said.

Preliminary findings, released in February last year, had previously found no difference between the two groups for the number of days worked in 2017.

“Money matters, but alone it’s not sufficient to significantly promote either labour supply or demand,” said Ylikännö.

 

[majorlyPickled]

Universal Basic Income is a net saver due to the elimination of millions of overpaid accountants and bureaucrats administering the current patchwork of welfare programs.

You're beyond naive if you think bureaucrats will get cut off from the teat.
And that really is the crux of the issue - only a retard would believe a leftist promising to compromise, but only after his thing gets implemented first.
I.e. I am flat out saying, no, UBI will never replace welfare, maybe get stacked on top. Before you try to disagree, bear in mind you're once again being beyond optimistic by expecting special interests groups to stop agitating for more gibs because muh oppression.

 

[Meth Kennedy]

We have already figured out ration cards nearly a century ago. Any UBI proposal should be approached as if it were a ration program so the income can only be used for necessities.

I think that would satisfy just about everyone except for the spergs, but you really shouldn't listen to anarcho-nobodies no matter what flamboyant color they decide to put on their homosexual flags. These are signals to rational people that the person you're dealing with is both unhinged and mentally retarded so disregard everything they say.

 

[polonium]

Teach people to save and put the money they are being given into something productive for themselves/community.

Except people won't save, they'll blow the UBI money in the first few days of the month and then scream for more to live on for the three and a half weeks until handout day rolls around again.

 

[Hollywood Hitler]

If everybody gets "free money" what value does it actually have?

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

I hate being the akchully poster, but the government (ideally) exists for just that reason. You (ideally) pay taxes so the government can do things like maintain infrastructure, enforce law of the land, facilitate a standard of living and keep people safe from threats both foreign and domestic. We do all of this because (ideally) the government is preferable to sporadic lords domineering territory in drastically different ways.

That being said, I don't support universal anything in the United States. All the methods proposed so far are ridiculously expensive. Fighting a nebulous virus alone has caused the U.S. debt to soar beyond any previous estimates, which included a single $1200 payment for everyone who isn't me.

I pay taxes to the government because they'll imprison me if I don't.

 

[Just Some Other Guy]

I pay taxes to the government because they'll imprison me if I don't.

"Here's a 'benefit' you didn't ask for. Now pay us and maybe we'll let you use it".

 

[byuu]

There is an issue right now in my city where restaurant workers don't want to go back to work cus they're making more off the new increased unemployment benefits than working their old jobs. Guess they're not long term thinkers since the benefits won't last for much longer and they're easily replaceable.

Their shitty job at some restaurant is easily replaceable too and is probably not one they want to be stuck at.
Taking the increased benefits and some time to find something better or even work towards your own business isn't that dumb.

 

[MrJokerRager]

I still want someone to explain to me where the money for UBI is going to come from when everyone decides to just go on UBI instead of working..... no study spends time looking into that, it's all about the "oh, think how happy we'll be when we don't have to toil, and how much we'll praise the government for providing all for us!", Not "So, when nobody is working, who's wages are getting taxed for all them free gibs?"

Gee... I wonder why?

 

[the fall of man]

The entire point of UBI is that people will spend it on trite belongings. Otherwise, we’d just give people limited programs like WIC which police what they can purchase (and pumps Wal-mart stock).

UBI is a stupid idea, but I would be for it if UBI was the only assistance you could receive; it would cut admin costs and people would be so hungry by midmonth they might learn some money management skills

 

[Otterly]

It seems like changing unemployment so that it doesn’t immediately penalize you for making money would be an easier change.

Yes, this is a big thing. Universal credit in the UK is so ridiculously structured that you can be penalised for being paid biweekly, Or for starting to get a job. You end up with ridiculous situations where someone gets a job and is suddenly worse off by miles because the system shafts them, then if they lose that job or it’s short term it takes ages to kick back in. When people are relying on gig job or short term contracts that’s disastrous.
Unemployment benefits need to be fair and they need to be practical - the point is that they’re a short term stopgap that stops people falling on hard times between jobs. So ramping benefits down rather than cutting off immediately is a good thing.