Possible ways of paying for it would include fees on salaries of people who earn more than the minimum, savings from welfare programs that would be discontinued and taxes or spending cuts in the state budget. “If you pay people to do nothing, they will do nothing”, said Charles Wyplosz, economics professor at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Proponents argued that a basic income would free people from meaningless toil and allow them to pursue more productive or creative goals.
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Kundig conceded there was little chance of the initiative passing, but said that “just getting a broad public debate started on this important issue is a victory”.
“I voted no”, said one Swiss voter.
A proposal by “Basic Income Switzerland” called for adults to be paid an unconditional income, 2,500 Swiss francs to be exact (around Rs 1,70,000) every month, whether they worked or not. “But I’m not surprised the proposal got rejected, the world is not ready for it yet”. The campaign organizer and leader, Che Wagner, noted that the Basic Income Switzerland policy was created to overcome the lack of jobs due to automation, but also to subsidize those who do “unpaid” work.
From Martin Luther King to Erich Fromm, the universal – or unconditional – basic income (UBI) has always had its supporters.
Rather, the significance of Sunday’s vote-which the plan’s backers ensured by collecting the necessary 100,000 signatures-was that it gave a high-profile airing to an idea that has gained traction among economists in Europe and the U.S.in recent years.
The idea was also under consideration elsewhere.
Campaigners of the plan for everyone in Switzerland to receive a basic monthly income tried to gain global attention by creating a poster bigger than a soccer field asking ‘What would you do if your income was secure?’
In the Netherlands, the city of Utrecht is leading a group of municipalities that are experimenting with similar pilot projects.
Other opponents said it would not be fair to all and would foster laziness. It probably helped that Swiss legislators had warned voters that passing this measure will weaken the now prosperous economy of Switzerland and will lead to a diminishing workforce.
Referendums are common in Switzerland’s democracy.
Eberle says she would “keep working, because I like my job, but I would work less and do other things on the side”.
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Following the referendum, Interior Minister Alain Berset said the vote showed Swiss voters supported the economic and social system in place “and that this system works well”.
