In France, a fundraising campaign has been announced for an experiment on universal basic income
Green Party spokesman Julien Bayou announced the start of a crowdfunding campaign on Thursday, November 2. He noted that the project is not directly linked to the political party.
According to RFI, at the time of publication, more than 650 people had participated in funding the experiment. They donated 19,300 euros. The initiative's authors need to raise 12,000 euros for each recipient of monthly payments. The project organizers want to raise enough funds to provide a universal basic income for two or three French people.
To receive the guaranteed income, one must register for free on the website. Making a donation is not required. Any French person can participate regardless of income. The initiative's authors emphasize that this is not a lottery but a civic experiment, although recipients of the universal basic income will be chosen randomly. Winners will not be required to report on how they spend the money. They will only be asked to communicate with the press – and they can do so anonymously – and answer researchers' questions for statistical collection.
According to the project's website, one of the reasons for conducting the experiment is the high unemployment rate in France. According to a study cited by the project's creators, three million jobs will disappear in France in the next seven years due to automation, and another 40 to 50% of jobs will disappear in the next twenty years.
In Julien Bayou's opinion, the universal basic income is intended only to supplement existing benefits, not replace them. "Universal basic income is as revolutionary an idea as paid leave or pensions once were. We want society to think: what will we do with this money? Stop working? Work less? Will we eat better and spend more time on ourselves and loved ones? We need to imagine what social protection will look like in the 21st century," he said on LCI television.
As part of the experiment, participants will be paid 1,000 euros per month – roughly one and a half times less than the minimum wage in France. The project's authors believe that this level of income will not allow for a full life, and those receiving such a benefit will have to seek additional income. As the project's website notes, this is why a guaranteed income will not create "cynical loafers and idlers."
According to the experiment's organizers, "universal basic income can free up the energy needed for work in associations or for creative work that is poorly paid. With a steady income, French people will be more willing to take risks and start their own businesses. All this will inevitably lead to a change in mentality – people will live as they choose, not as they have to."
Universal basic income was mentioned as early as the 16th century in Thomas More's book "Utopia." The first experiments with its introduction were conducted in the United States, where a negative income tax was introduced in several states in the 1970s. Currently, universal basic income is paid to residents of Alaska from revenue from gas and oil sales. The amount of payments changes each year and depends on the region's financial situation. In 2016, it amounted to 1,100 dollars.
In Finland in 2017, the government launched a pilot program for paying universal basic income. 2,000 unemployed Finns, chosen randomly, will receive 560 euros per month for two years. Payments will not be stopped even if they find work.
In France, experiments with guaranteed income have not been conducted before, but presidential candidates have spoken about the possibility of its introduction. Benoît Hamon proposed paying an additional benefit to every adult French person earning less than 2,600 euros per month.
The idea of universal basic income is often criticized. Opponents of this idea claim that universal basic income costs the state too much and leads to higher taxes. They also fear that with universal basic income, not all able-bodied people will work, which will negatively affect the economy.
Opponents of introducing universal basic income won a referendum in Switzerland in 2016. 77% of residents voted against a monthly payment of 2,500 Swiss francs to all residents of the country.