Despite tentative bipartisan support for basic income in the U.S, the concept has gained greatest traction outside America. Switzerland has become the first country to hold a referendum on basic income at a national level; in 2015, the Swiss Parliament will vote on whether to extend a basic income of 2,500 Swiss francs (about $2,600) per month to every Swiss resident.
The article discusses radical versions of the Basic Income Grant for the U.S., in which $15,000 per household would be provided instead of Social Security as well as means-tested programs such as food stamps. It was hard for me to tell whether Medicaid would have to go, too. One commenter even thinks that Medicare would be axed to help pay for the income grant.
Anyway, although political judgment is not my specialty, it seems to me that tying a basic income grant to getting rid of Social Security would make it much harder to pass.
Meanwhile, if Switzerland pulls it off, it will be another victory for small states having better government/
Arnold,
You hae often made the case that smallness is often a if not the key to having an effective governance. I agree, and I think most Libertarians would too. How does one reconcile this with open or even, just, generous immigration practices?
The Swiss numbers can’t be right, can they? $2,600 per month per person is over $120,000 for a family of 4 per year.
Anyone that wants to see this is best to introduce it small and then grow it, shrinking other programs in real if not nominal terms. Best from a test point of view as well.