Swiss Say No to Basic Income | Hinesight....for Foresight

We have been keeping an eye on new economy concepts. The passage of a guaranteed basic income would be an indicator of progress towards some of the novel concepts. So, I awaited the results of the Swiss referendum last week with interest. It’s the first national-scale referendum. It called for adults to be paid an unconditional monthly income, whether they worked or not. It would have given all adults about $2,500 a month (2500 Swiss Francs), and kids about $625 a month. Early polls suggested a split public. But the final result turned out much differently: nearly 77% opposed the plan and only 23% supported it.

An interesting tidbit from a supporter, Che Wagner of Basic Income Switzerland, argued that “In Switzerland over 50% of total work that is done is unpaid. It’s care work, it’s at home, it’s in different communities, so that work would be more valued with a basic income.” Alas, his countrymen didn’t agree….yet.

For many, I’m sure, there was a sigh of relief. While I’ll confess to mild disappointment, it may have been for the best (if you’re a supporter). My reasoning is that this concept is still a bit too radical for the world we are living in, and that if it passes “too soon,” it might stimulate a counter-reaction that would be even more damaging in the long term.

This is not the end. There are other efforts underway. The Finnish government is planning an experiment where up to 100,000 people could get about $1,100 a month. Four Dutch cities are likely to run trials. And several other cities and states, from Canada to Spain, are interested. So, we’ll keep our eyes peeled and look for next signals of change. Andy Hines

Sources:

“Switzerland’s Voters Reject Basic Income Plan,” BBC News, June 5, 2016.

Ben Schiller, “Switzerland Will Hold the World’s First Universal Basic Income Referendum,” Fast Company, February 5, 2016.

About Andy Hines

Dr. Andy Hines is Program Coordinator at the University of Houston’s Graduate Program in Foresight, bringing together the experience he earned as an organizational, consulting, and academic futurist. He is also speaking, workshopping, and consulting through his firm Hinesight.

Before that, he was Managing Director of Social Technologies/Innovaro, and served as an Adjunct Professor with the university since 2004. Hines enjoyed earlier careers as a consulting and organizational futurist. He was a partner with Coates & Jarratt, Inc., a think tank and consulting firm that specialized in the study of the future. He was also Futurist & Senior Ideation Leader at Dow Chemical with a mission of using futures tools and knowledge to turn ideas into new business opportunities. Before that, Hines established and ran the Global Trends Program for the Kellogg Company.

Hines is motivated by a professional hunger to make foresight practical and useful, and he believes that foresight can help deliver the insight that is so needed in today’s organizations and the world. His goal, he says, is to infect as many change agents as possible with this message. Thus, he has honed a skill set designed to make foresight more actionable in organizations.

In this pursuit, he has authored five books: Teaching about the Future: The Basics of Foresight Education (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); ConsumerShift: How Changing Values Are Reshaping the Consumer Landscape (No Limits Publishing, 2011); Thinking About the Future: Guidelines for Strategic Foresight (Social Technologies, 2007); 2025: Science and Technology Reshapes US and Global Society (Oak Hill, 1997); and Managing Your Future as an Association (ASAE, 1994) and has another in the hands of publishers: Teaching about the Future: The Basics of Foresight Education. He has also authored dozens of articles, speeches, and workshops, including the 2003 Emerald Literati Awards’ Outstanding Paper accolade for best article published in Foresight for “An Audit for Organizational Futurists” and the 2008 award for “Scenarios: The State of the Art.” He has appeared on several radio and television programs, PBS Houston, KRIV-26 News, and the CBS “Early Show.” He also co-founded and is former Chair of the Association of Professional Futurists.

Comments

Gary says

June 15, 2016 at 1:41 pm

There was a real world experiment in the 1970’s in Canada called Mincome. Data indicates that the program delivered, but politics terminated the effort.

A recent overview about “Why don’t we have universal basic income?” is online:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/06/20/why-dont-we-have-universal-basic-income

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