Universal Basic Income
Rising automation strengthens case for UBI
With automation threatening more careers, Finland joins the growing list of countries launching Universal Basic Income (UBI) experiments. But will the cost make such an experiment viable in reality?
The Finnish government are paying 2000 unemployed people to test whether they will work more or less given UBI. For 560 euros per month, UBI is helping many individuals to carve out a more creative and fulfilling career path that suits their personal needs. "I feel that I get so much more time, I can focus on what I feel is important", explains Juha. He believes that the handmade drums he has been able to craft while on UBI could support him even after he no longer receives the benefit. Though the scheme is thought to necessitate a 10% tax increase on people's incomes, with growing trends in automation, locals predict that "something like [UBI] has to happen at some point".
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