Switzerland – A Basic Income creates new problems – Süddeutsche.de

This Sunday the Swiss vote on an income for all, for that you have to do nothing. That sounds better than it is.

Comment by Charlotte Theile

the unconditional basic income, vote on the Swiss this Sunday, is a radical idea. The social security systems, introduced to mitigate the distortions of industrialization would fundamentally overhauled – many say are adapted to modern, flexible working environment. Who wants to implement such an idea needs good arguments, courage and perhaps a little megalomania. In recent months, Switzerland was covered with dancing robots, giant posters and ten-franc bills. Anyone who reads the newspaper, now know that there are good reasons to give every human being without examination as much money as he needs for an independent life.

This discussion Switzerland has furthered. “What would you do if would have taken care of your income?” – The question that there have recently even in the Guinness Book of Records, the initiators, is one that everyone should ask once. And anyway: CHF 2,500 for doing nothing, that sounds so fantastic that you can imagine 90 percent votes in favor with no problems. In fact, the activists come in surveys about a third supporter. Why is that?

Who is convinced to have found an answer to everything that is wrong

If you believe are the initiators, many people do not go far enough to the genius of their idea to penetrate. Philip Kovce, one of the loudest representatives of BI, said in a recent interview, he who does not believe in the initiative of the people, was “badly informed or just narrow-minded”. Other activists are upset noticeable when politicians or journalists ask about the financial sustainability of their mission. And the question that the activists will rise while Smalltalk no longer reads: Why, what speaks against our idea? You wonder how long it will take until the basic income is introduced. They mostly agree on ten to fifteen years. . A dangerous elitism

Who is so convinced to be his time decades ahead, overlooking something crucial: the presence

Here today are the Swiss with the organization of their social systems. satisfied. You know how much they have paid, how much they will get out. You wonder if the refugees from Syria and other war zones of the world that have so far landed only in small numbers in Switzerland, will eventually come abound. They want to know how the country can supply its growing population with affordable housing, streets and seats in commuter trains. An unconditional basic income? Sounds as more like a new problem as a solution

The book contributes to the campaign subtitled. “Why the unconditional basic income asks the right questions.” A modest target, to which the initiators should remember once again before the vote. After all, the challenges to which the basic income reacts, are real: More and more people work in precarious conditions and can hardly cover anything. Robots in the years to take on simple tasks. A social security system, which sees unemployment as a failure, is no longer appropriate to do so.

Those who discussed these questions openly, makes an important contribution to the social policy of the future. But who is convinced to have found an answer to everything, loses the ground under their feet. The basic income opens up new perspectives. A cure is not

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Four reasons against the unconditional basic income

in the future, it might not be enough work for all in the traditional sense. Therefore is hotly debated over a basic income – but there is no magic formula. Analysis of Alexandra Borchardt more …