Ask A Genius 291 – Universal Basic Income (1)
September 15, 2017
[Beginning of recorded material]
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What’re your thoughts on a universal basic income, a basic income or a negative interest tax or something?
Rick Rosner: You’re talking about the idea that Finland is experimenting with which is just giving everybody kind of a basic really subsistence level wage even if they’re not working.
Jacobsen: Well, just one quick thing; its Kenya, Finland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
Rosner: Okay, I don’t think any of those, I don’t know. You probably know better. I don’t think any of those countries is doing it for everybody. I think they’re just experimenting with it.
Jacobsen: Four cities in the Netherlands; the Swiss government vote on a referendum that would give citizens as much as 2,623 dollars per month.
Rosner: Now, is that happening? Has it been implemented yet?
Jacobsen: On June 5th they voted on the referendum, so it’s probably.
Rosner: So, it hasn’t started yet? You’re saying that people are basically going to get 31 grand a year in American dollars the equivalent just for being a Swiss citizen?
Jacobsen: I guess so.
Rosner: Yes, well we have systems like this in America for certain populations. You live in Alaska, you get money every year for just being an Alaskan from I believe the sale of oil. You participate in the economic life of the state, it sells a lot of oil and you get money. If you belong to certain Native American tribes, you participate in the life of the tribe, you get the cut of casino profits if your tribe runs a casino. So, this stuff happens even in America even though red-blooded conservative Americans say this is socialism. But anyway, 10% of their population, they’re trying.
[End of recorded material]
Authors[1]
Rick Rosner
American Television Writer
Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Editor-in-Chief, In-Sight Publishing
Footnotes
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Rick Rosner 