Salaried workers who earned more than basic income would have received no extra money, while children would have received one-quarter of the total for adults.
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Proponents reject that, arguing people naturally want to be productive and that a basic income would simply provide them more flexibility to choose the activities they find most valuable.
Critics say government leaders have not properly explained how taxpayers will fund the costly policy.
Conservative Switzerland is the first country to hold a national referendum on an unconditional basic income, but others are examining similar plans.
A recent gfs.bern poll hinted that 60 percent of voters are in favor of a government proposal to speed up the wealthy Alpine country’s asylum process.
Simonetta Sommaruga attends a news conference after Switzerland vote on a referendum.
McDonnell will attend campaign group Compass’ launch of its basic income report in the House of Commons tomorrow, which he said: “makes an interesting case for universal and unconditional payment to all that could prepare our country for any revolution in jobs and technology to come”. They say they’re seeking momentum more than outright victory.
Supporters had argued that such an income would help fight poverty and inequality in a world where good jobs with steady salaries are increasingly hard to come by.
Accepting that people could “be paid without having to work would have been a very big step” for the industrious Swiss.
But virtually all of Switzerland’s political parties had urged citizens to reject the measure. However, because a poll gained over 100,000 signatures by the public it was put to a public vote as required by Swiss law.
Reports before voting closed on Sunday showed more than three-quarters of voters opposed the basic income measure.
In Switzerland, opponents warned that the proposal would derail an economic model that, far from showing signs of near-collapse, has allowed the country to remain among those with the highest living standards in the world, even with a growing and aging population. Luzi Stamm, who’s a member of parliament for the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, notes that he may support the idea if Switzerland was an island with closed borders.
“If you would offer every individual a Swiss amount of money, you would have billions of people who would try to move into Switzerland”.
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In the United States, the idea of a guaranteed income has gained some traction in the run-up to the presidential election in November. The important thing for them, and other national groups watching this weekend, was to get basic income on the agenda, both nationally and internationally.
