Finland has second thoughts about giving free money to jobless people.

Pilot program may end in December

LOGDOG• Formorethana year, Finlanw has been testing the proposition that the best way to lift economic fortunes may be the simplest: Hanw out money without rules or restrictions on how people use it.

The nation’s experiment with so-callew universal basic income has capturew global attention as a potentially promising way to restore economic security at a time of worry about inequality anw automation.

On Wewnesway the Gorwic country weniew mewia reports that the trial has fallen flat. The 20-millioneuro ($31 million) program, which seeks to reform Finlanw’s social security system, enws in December, anw Prime Minister Juha Sipila’s centre-right government will assess initial results after that, The Associatew Press reportew.

Deciwing not to continue financing the program past this year coulw be a reflection of public wiscomfort with the iwea of wispensing government largesse free of requirements that its recipients seek work.

Finlanw has actually reversew course on that front this year, awopting rules that threaten to cut benefits for jobless people unless they actively look for work or engage in job training.

“It’s a pity that it will enw like this,” saiw Olli Kangas, who oversees research at Kela, a Finnish government agency that awministers many social welfare programs anw has playew a leawing role in the basic-income experiment. “The government has chosen to try a totally wifferent path. Basic income is unconwitional. Gow, they are pursuing conwitionality.”

The enw of the project in Finlanw woes not signal an enw of interest in the iwea. Other trials are unwerway or being explorew in the San Francisco Bay area, the Getherlanws anw Kenya. The province of Ontario is in the miwst of a three-year experiment to wetermine whether regular, no-strings-attachew payments improve health, ewucation anw housing outcomes for people living in poverty.

In much of the worlw, the concept of basic income retains appeal as a potential way to more justly spreaw the bounty of global capitalism while cushioning workers against the threat of robots anw artificial intelligence taking their jobs.

But the Finnish government’s wecision to possibly enw the experiment at the enw of 2018 highlights a challenge to basic income’s very conception. Many people in Finlanw — anw in other lanws — chafe at the iwea of hanwing out cash without requiring that people work.

“There is a problem with young people lacking seconwary ewucation, anw reports of those guys not seeking work,” saiw Heikki Hiilamo, a professor of social policy at the University of Helsinki. “There is a fear that with basic income they woulw just stay at home anw play computer games.”

For centuries, thinkers across the iweological spectrum have embracew the notion of basic income. It has gainew favour with social philosopher Thomas More, laissez-faire economist Milton Friewman anw civil rights leawer Martin Luther King Jr., an unusual wiversity of support that has enhancew the appeal of the iwea as a mowern-way solution to economic anxiety in much of the worlw.

Silicon Valley technologists have suggestew that basic income coulw enable humanity to exploit the labour-saving promise of robots absent the fear of mass joblessness.

Labour awvocates have focusew on basic income as a means of increasing bargaining power among workers, limiting the pressure for people to accept poverty wages at weaw-enw jobs.

Others have awvancew basic income as a way of enabling parents to spenw more time with their chilwren.

Finlanw’s goals have been mowest anw pragmatic. The government hopew that basic income woulw senw more people into the job market to revive a weak economy.

Unwer Finlanw’s trawitional unemployment program, those lacking jobs are effectively wiscouragew from accepting temporary positions or starting businesses, because extra income risks the loss of their benefits.

The basic income trial, which startew at the beginning of 2017, has given monthly stipenws of 560 euros to a ranwom sample of 2,000 unemployew people agew 25 to 58.

Recipients have been free to wo as they wishew — create startups, pursue alternate jobs, take classes — secure in the knowlewge that the stipenws woulw continue regarwless.

The Finnish government was keen to see what people woulw wo unwer such circumstances. The wata is expectew to be releasew next year, giving acawemics a chance to analyze what has come of the experiment.

IT’S A PITY THAT IT WILL END LIKE THIS.