Finland Doing The Unspeakable
@crossbones27 (50069)
Mojave, California
January 3, 2017 3:42pm CST
Finland will randomly pay 2000 thousand of their unemployed citizens for 2 years in a social experiment. Finland's unemployment as a country sits at 8.l percent.
These unemployed people will get 560 euros a month which is about 586 US dollars a month. They are calling it a basic income. The great thing is if these people get a job within the two year time frame, they still get to collect the basic income while pulling in a paycheck.
This is a great idea for people who like free things and do not want to work. It is not fair to the rest of the people who actually do work. We have all heard the gripes before, but how come we still have so many people who are homeless and living in poverty if our current systems are so good?
My friend just came back from New Orleans and pretty much described the city as fun, but so damn depressing at the same time. That is because the homeless and pan handling of poor people where everywhere. "No one is going to hire them," is what he told me. He is a pretty straight shooter.
This from a guy who lives about 60 miles from Skid Row in LA. We Californian's know better to go anywhere near that place. So, people can keep talking smack all they want about how these ideas of giving people free money will never work or we can actually try it.
Corporations and charities will never fix this problem and people always get to discouraged to be able to pull themselves out a rigged society. I personally would like to see more than just money thrown their way.
Maybe find a part a city that needs rebuilding. Pay them to fix it up and once it is fixed up they can live there as long as they maintain it. So many things we could do, but choose not to because it is an inconvenience and costs money.
Imagine how much money everyone is losing each year from hospital bills, jail costs, evictions, each year because we never fix the problem right. I am at least glad to see someone trying something else. The leaders who keep saying and doing the same thing over an over are just as insane as many of the people living in the streets. The only difference people hired them.
10 people like this
10 responses
@Letranknight2015 (52231)
• Philippines
3 Jan 17
Wow they are paying unemployed people? what about those who were hired for work?? I think that's a bit unfair to me.
3 people like this
@crossbones27 (50069)
• Mojave, California
4 Jan 17
I forgot why they said they were going to continue to pay them. lol. It might be unfair, but also pretty unfair not everyone can get a job also when they need it and pretty unfair many do not make enough money to live off who do work. Unfair so many volunteer and get paid nothing at all. Funny how this is always looked at from one perspective, but I do get what you are saying.
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25805)
• United States
3 Jan 17
The cost of providing $990 a month (the Federal Poverty Level) to America's unemployed would be in the neighborhood of $10 BILLION a month. That works out to about $34 per person per month in taxes for every man, woman, and child in America, including the 10 million who are unemployed (per Forbes Magazine). If only people actually working full time for a living are considered, it works out to an average of $90 a month in additional taxes per working person to pay the unemployed just enough to bring them up to the Federal Poverty Level, with no appreciable savings in any other area.
And if the unemployed person is married and has a couple of kids, the cost rises to over $2,000 a month to keep a family of four at the poverty line. Would these people also stay eligible for SNAP, WICS, AFDC, and Medicaid?
I don't think the working people of America are ready for a program that, at a minimum, not including administrative costs, would cost $120 BILLION a year just to help unemployed people enjoy being unemployed at a higher standard.
3 people like this
@crossbones27 (50069)
• Mojave, California
4 Jan 17
Oh definitely not America. This country is to set in their ways for something like that. 
Thanks for doing the number crunching on this, but I do believe I heard that the pentagon blew 125 billion on bureaucratic waste and tried to cover it up. How about we just fight one less war. How much money would that save us to help with this problem? Do rich countries like Israel really need aid from us? Some of the stuff we do makes no sense, rather than just fixing the problem.
It just to me sounds like there is many different options we could be trying instead of the same old same old. Which does seem to be outdated and not all that efficient in getting people to where they need or want to go. Not to mention what it does to their mental status. It makes many not give a crap and then many just give up. All leading to more wasted tax dollars.
Thanks for doing the number crunching on this, but I do believe I heard that the pentagon blew 125 billion on bureaucratic waste and tried to cover it up. How about we just fight one less war. How much money would that save us to help with this problem? Do rich countries like Israel really need aid from us? Some of the stuff we do makes no sense, rather than just fixing the problem.
It just to me sounds like there is many different options we could be trying instead of the same old same old. Which does seem to be outdated and not all that efficient in getting people to where they need or want to go. Not to mention what it does to their mental status. It makes many not give a crap and then many just give up. All leading to more wasted tax dollars.2 people like this
@SIMPLYD (90721)
• Philippines
5 Jan 17
It is unfair indeed if an unemployed person receiving a monthly stipend from the government would still receive it even if within the two year period he already have found a job . Maybe the government should amend that one .
Though , good for the people there because they have that unemployment stipend . Here , if you get unemployed you get nothing at all while looking for another job .
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (50069)
• Mojave, California
6 Jan 17
It all goes back in the economy and maybe is unfair, but is it any different than what governments do for corporations to keep them thriving
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
5 Jan 17
I wonder what will be the outcome of this idea in the long run if indeed it is implemented.
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (50069)
• Mojave, California
5 Jan 17
I know, and wonder if it does work will the real truth get told or buried? That is why I think so many social ideas do not work out because people in power with all the money do not want these ideas to succeed. They would rather have people making them rich, not themselves.
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (50069)
• Mojave, California
6 Jan 17
Not anymore, supposed to find you work. They passed that in the late 90s. Well, at least they were supposed to make people work if they were to be on welfare. The problem is they still could not get anyone to hire many people. At the end of the day, we can say this and that about people who just do not want to work, but at the same time maybe the problem all along was no one wanted the hassle and spend the money on putting these people to work.
@crossbones27 (50069)
• Mojave, California
3 Jan 17
That is true, but look at all these run down buildings in every city in this country. Could start there and fix them up instead of zoning out more untouched land to corporations that just end up killing more wild life and cuts into our already over used resource supply. They could do all sorts of things for unskilled labor, but it definitely would have to be spent with tax payer money. That is unless someone could finally get corporations to jump on board.
People do not really like those jobs anyway, but they need to get done. With the way everything is about to be automated, everyone might have to have a basic income anyway or you are going to see the world fall into just the rich places and then the rest will be slums.
1 person likes this
@Plethos (13581)
• United States
3 Jan 17
@crossbones27 - I agree, infrastructure is what provides entry level job opportunities.
1 person likes this
@averygirl72 (38401)
• Philippines
4 Jan 17
I read this in the news. They will pay the unemployed. It can help the economy a bit
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (50069)
• Mojave, California
4 Jan 17
It all will go back into the economy most likely.
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (50069)
• Mojave, California
4 Jan 17
Yeah, some of them are happy with it and know how to get by that way. If they like it who are we to stop them. Just saying we could be doing other things for the people who do not want to be homeless and the people struggling not to become homeless. There is always plenty of work do be done, but a lot of that work we want people to volunteer for so no gets paid or they pay so low no one wants to do it. The raised the minimum wage to 10 dollars in some places and you are still not going to be able to live off that.
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
4 Jan 17
Someone needs to try something different, because this ain't working.
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (50069)
• Mojave, California
4 Jan 17
That is what I am saying, I have been hearing rumors of how Skid Row just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Not to mention the amount of homeless people I have seen around my own house has been on the rise for some time now.
1 person likes this
@immilind113 (607)
•
4 Jan 17
Well it looks finland has won a jackpot or so...or it must be that case where the number of unemployed people are very less
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (50069)
• Mojave, California
4 Jan 17
Just 2000, I am sure they have way more unemployed people than 2000. It is a start though.
