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Free money
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Free money Basic income, free money from NYT: Enjoying life is no trivial matter for the slight, serious Mr. Bohmeyer, whose experimental, grass-roots platform has thus far given more than 650 randomly-selected people 1,000 euros a month, around $1,165, for a year, no strings attached, just to test a thesis. Namely, that what people need to thrive in a rapidly changing world is not more money, but more security, and that an unconditional basic income — a monthly sum to cover living expenses that, if implemented, would be paid by the government and received by everyone — could enable this. The idea has resonated in Germany, a wealthy country that spends about a third of its G.D.P. on a robust social welfare system. In the six years since Mr. Bohmeyer first called for donations “My Basic Income” has raised about €8 million, thanks to 140,000 or so private donations of sums as low as a couple of euros a month. Now, after publishing a best-selling book detailing the experiences of a cross-section of recipients — ranging from a hotel heiress to a homeless man — Mr. Bohmeyer and his team have partnered with the respected German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin for a study. As part of this “pilot project,” 120 randomly chosen people will receive €1,200 a month for three years, while a larger control group of “statistical twins” in similar life situations will not. When the call for applications went out in August, a million people signed up in less than three days. Given its small size, the study does not look at macroeconomic impacts, like how taxes would be affected or if a basic income would lead to inflation. Rather, it will simply try to find out whether unconditional monthly payments lead to statistically significant changes in recipients’ behavior and feelings. “Is there a dark side?” asked Mr. Schupp, noting that in recent polls, about half of Germans found the concept good, in principle. “Or do we get confirmation of the nice stories in Michael Bohmeyer’s book?” To write “What Would You Do? How an Unconditional Basic Income Changes Us,” Mr. Bohmeyer and his co-author took 10 days to travel through Germany interviewing 24 recipients, past and present. In keeping with the findings of other basic income studies around the world, they found that few people quit their jobs. Many, however, made changes — a social worker used the extra resources to retrain as a hospice worker, and a just-treading-water retiree quit her off-the-books job waitressing for an exploitative<b> boss </font></b>and got another job at a better restaurant. Regardless of whether they spent the money, saved it, invested it or gave it away, almost all of the people interviewed said the monthly payments just made them feel better. “We call it the ‘basic income feeling,’” |
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What would you do with free money? Pay off bills then spend it on fun and charity.
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Money without work, reminds me of trust fund babies. They get advantages from the parent's work....
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