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> Switzerland will hold a June 5 referendum on whether to give every adult citizen 2,500 Swiss francs (about $2,600) a month. Yeah and, for sure, it won't pass

by bontoJR 10y ago

> Switzerland will hold a June 5 referendum on whether to give every adult citizen 2,500 Swiss francs (about $2,600) a month. Yeah and, for sure, it won't pass... considering how conservative we are, plus the legal side of the proposal is not so clear in where the money will come from.

sambe 10y ago
This doesn't seem like enough for Switzerland - what do you think? Based on my experience this would be on the very low side. The previous vote on minimum wage was quoted as working out at around 4000CHF/month. Granted, most basic income proposals are on the low side - this just seems even lower than normal.
- VeejayRampay 10y ago
  It seems low. I think this is what cashiers at Lidl or Leader Price actually make in Switzerland. Or rather, it's the urban legend in France that this how much a cashier in Lidl/Leader Price makes in Switzerland. Though this might be part of the whole "Everything is better in Switzerland" psyche prevalent in France (streets are paved in sheets of gold, etc).
  - AlgorithmicTime 10y ago
    The gold doesn't corrode or pothole - it's a better investment over the long term.
  - Kenji 10y ago
    4000 Francs is a de-facto minimum wage in Switzerland. Even the most basic jobs will earn you that much, usually. It's rare that you earn significantly less than that.
tribaal 10y ago
Well, holding a referendum in Switzerland means 100k citizens agree to put it up for referendum, nothing more, nothing less. It's not some kind of endorsement of it as a good or feasible idea, unfortunately. As you point out, most pro basic-income people I've talked with here tend to hand-wave the "how do we pay for it" question as "implementation detail" or some idealistic rhetoric ("tax the rich more!") which is not encouraging me to vote in favor. I would be happy to give my vote to a proposal that included a budget proposition, or a rational analysis of feasibility. The current one doesn't (http://initiative-revenudebase.ch/initiative/ http://initiative-revenudebase.ch/initiative/)
Kenji 10y ago
I read that they (the people who launched it) proposed to increase the VAT to 50%. 50% VAT! This is lunacy. The proponents of UBI in Switzerland are economic illiterates. I haven't heard of a single good way to fund this UBI which costs more than 3 times the current budget of the state.

by bontoJR 10y ago

sambe 10y ago

This doesn't seem like enough for Switzerland - what do you think? Based on my experience this would be on the very low side. The previous vote on minimum wage was quoted as working out at around 4000CHF/month. Granted, most basic income proposals are on the low side - this just seems even lower than normal.

VeejayRampay 10y ago
It seems low. I think this is what cashiers at Lidl or Leader Price actually make in Switzerland. Or rather, it's the urban legend in France that this how much a cashier in Lidl/Leader Price makes in Switzerland. Though this might be part of the whole "Everything is better in Switzerland" psyche prevalent in France (streets are paved in sheets of gold, etc).
- AlgorithmicTime 10y ago
  The gold doesn't corrode or pothole - it's a better investment over the long term.
- Kenji 10y ago
  4000 Francs is a de-facto minimum wage in Switzerland. Even the most basic jobs will earn you that much, usually. It's rare that you earn significantly less than that.

tribaal 10y ago

Well, holding a referendum in Switzerland means 100k citizens agree to put it up for referendum, nothing more, nothing less. It's not some kind of endorsement of it as a good or feasible idea, unfortunately. As you point out, most pro basic-income people I've talked with here tend to hand-wave the "how do we pay for it" question as "implementation detail" or some idealistic rhetoric ("tax the rich more!") which is not encouraging me to vote in favor. I would be happy to give my vote to a proposal that included a budget proposition, or a rational analysis of feasibility. The current one doesn't (http://initiative-revenudebase.ch/initiative/ http://initiative-revenudebase.ch/initiative/)

Kenji 10y ago

I read that they (the people who launched it) proposed to increase the VAT to 50%. 50% VAT! This is lunacy. The proponents of UBI in Switzerland are economic illiterates. I haven't heard of a single good way to fund this UBI which costs more than 3 times the current budget of the state.