Finland has been giving 2,000 of its citizens an unconditional income for the last five months and some are already seeing the benefits, reporting decreased stress, greater incentives to find work and more time to pursue business ideas.
芬蘭在過去五個月讓2000位公民獲得無條件收入,其中一些人已經(jīng)感受到了這一福利的好處,他們報告說自己的壓力減輕,找工作的動力更足,也有更多時間去實踐商業(yè)構(gòu)想。
The scheme is the first of its kind in Europe and sees participants receive €560 every month for two years.
這個項目在歐洲是首創(chuàng),參與者連續(xù)兩年每個月都能得到560歐元(合4278元人民幣)的收入。
Recipients do not have to demonstrate that they are seeking employment and they are not required to regularly report to authorities to prove they still need the payment, as is the case with standard unemployment benefits. They can spend the money however they like.
受助者不必證明自己正在待業(yè),也不用像領(lǐng)受標準失業(yè)補助一樣,需要定期向當局證明他們還需要這份補助金。這筆錢他們可以想怎么花就怎么花。
Under the pilot, if a participant finds work, they will continue to receive the stipend, removing one of the limitations of current welfare systems - the disincentive to find work.
這個試點項目中,如果參與者找到了工作,他們將繼續(xù)領(lǐng)受這份補助,免去了現(xiàn)行福利系統(tǒng)的限制條件,這一限制條件降低了人們找工作的積極性。
The trial is one measure introduced by the centre-right government to tackle Finland's unemployment problem.
這一試點是芬蘭的中右翼政府為解決芬蘭失業(yè)問題而引進的解決方案。
Juha Jarvinen, an unemployed young father in a village near Jurva, western Finland, was picked at random to receive the payment, starting in January this year. He told the Economist that, unlike when he was receiving standard unemployment payments, he is now actively seeking work.
尤哈•雅維寧是芬蘭西部尤爾瓦附近的一個村莊的一名待業(yè)的年輕父親,他被隨機選中成為保障金受益人,從今年一月份開始領(lǐng)取。他告訴《經(jīng)濟學(xué)人》雜志說,和他領(lǐng)受標準失業(yè)補助時不同,他現(xiàn)在正在積極地找工作。
He had previously been offered a few part-time positions but taking them would make no sense, since it would jeopardise his welfare payments. “It is crazy, so no one will take a bit of work,” he said.
他先前曾得到過幾次兼職工作的機會,但是做這些兼職毫無意義,因為這樣就會危及他的福利補助。他說:“這種事很讓人抓狂,所以沒人會去攬一些小活兒。”
He said he is also in the process of starting a business, is much less stressed and no longer has to go through the “silly show” of filling out forms or attending regular interviews with employment agency officials.
他說,他還籌備著創(chuàng)業(yè),心理壓力比以前小多了,也不再需要走過場地填一堆表格,或定期接受就業(yè)署官員的審查。
“I’m an artist and entrepreneur. Sometimes I’m too active, I don’t have time to stop,” he said.
他說:“我是一位藝術(shù)家,也是一位企業(yè)家。有時候我太活躍了,我沒有時間停下來。”
Not everyone is impressed by the pilot scheme, however. In February, Finland’s biggest union said the experiment was unaffordable and would encourage some people to work less while driving up wages in undesirable professions.
然而,不是每個人都對這個試點項目點頭稱道。今年二月份,芬蘭最大的工會團體稱,芬蘭沒有足夠的資金來支撐這一試驗,而且無條件補助會鼓勵一些人不勞而獲,還會抬高那些沒人愿意干的職業(yè)的工資。
“We think it takes social policy in the wrong direction,” Ilkka Kaukoranta, chief economist of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), told Bloomberg.
芬蘭工會中央總會的首席經(jīng)濟學(xué)家伊爾卡•考可蘭塔告訴彭博社說:“我認為這是往錯誤的方向推行社會政策。”
The union, which represents almost 1 million members, or a fifth of the Finnish population, said the model being tested is, “impossibly expensive, since it would increase the government deficit by about 5 percent” of gross domestic product.
芬蘭工會中央總會有近100萬工會會員,占芬蘭人口的五分之一。工會總會稱,這個試點項目“驚人的昂貴,因為這會將政府(國內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值)赤字增加約5%”。
In March, Ontario, Canada's largest province, announced it was trialling a similar universal basic income scheme.
今年三月份,加拿大最大省安大略省宣布,該省正在試點一個相似的全民基本收入計劃。
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said the scheme was needed to address “new challenges” presented by the modern economy.
安大略省省長凱思琳•韋恩說,這一計劃是為了應(yīng)對現(xiàn)代經(jīng)濟帶來的“新挑戰(zhàn)”。