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Proposals for a universal basic income (UBI) are on the rise, with many supporting the system as a possible solution to unemployment caused by the rise of artificial intelligence-enabled machines taking over the workforce.
The system would see governments pay every country’s citizen a basic salary to cover costs including food and rent.
The guaranteed amount would be paid by the state to everyone, regardless of wealth or employment status.
Depending on the details of the UBI proposal, the funds could be added to or replace existing benefits.
Left-wing supporters of the system say it could reduce poverty rates. For right-wingers it is a route to a less bureaucratic welfare system.
The program would likely be financed by an increase in income taxes at all income levels.
To give every adult and child in the United States an annual income of £8,045 ($10,000) per year, the government would likely have to cut most non-health social spending programs and reduce the share of GDP devoted to taxes are collected by ten percent increase. according to the Economist.
Another suggestion is a negative interest rate, which would take a percentage of every citizen’s bank account every month.
A universal basic income in Britain that would give every adult and child £12,000 ($14,900) a year would require a negative interest rate of 2.5 percent per month, according to British newspaper The Guardian. Center for Welfare Reform.
So if someone had £5,000 ($6,600) in their bank account at the beginning of the month, by the end they would be left with £4,884 ($6,500) because £116 ($153) would be taken by the government. for a universal basic income pot.
Some have proposed a sliding scale of basic income, so the higher a person’s working salary, the lower the basic income check he or she would receive from the government.
The left-wing French presidential candidate Benoit Hamon, supported by star economist Thomas Piketty, has also made basic income part of his platform.
Finland is the first European country to pay its unemployed citizens an unconditional amount.
The two-year pilot program, which started on January 1, gives unemployed Finnish citizens aged 25 to 58 a guaranteed amount of €560 (£490/$648), which replaces existing social benefits.
The money will still be paid out if they eventually find work.
In Marica, Brazil, a beach town of about 150,000 people near Rio de Janeiro, the left-wing municipal government has been exploring universal basic salaries over the past year.
In Marica – a remaining bastion of the Workers’ Party in increasingly right-wing Brazil – the idea of a basic income fits well with the socialist zeal of the leaders.
However, if Finland hands out payments of around $590 (£450) per month – and only to a test group of unemployed people for now – the amount in Marica is a paltry 10 reais, or around $3.20 (£2.40). The new mayor hopes to increase the amount to $32 in 2017.
Only the city’s 14,000 poorest families currently receive the income, denominated in Mumbucas, a virtual currency created three years ago under Quaqua to pay for social security.
The 10 reais are added to the monthly benefit of 85 reais ($27/£20) for families whose income does not exceed three times the minimum wage. The extra money is also given to poorer people between the ages of 14 and 29 and to pregnant women who already receive other benefits.
There’s another limitation: Only 131 local businesses – less than 10 percent of the total – accept payments in Mumbucas, the mayor’s office says.
The currency, which physically only exists on specially issued red magnetic cards, is unpopular with business owners because they have to wait more than a month after purchases are completed for the government to convert payments into reals.