I argued with a friend that universal basic income was a fantasy, but a single chart from a city in Finland changed my mind.

They showed me the data on how it cut stress and boosted small business starts by 15% in two years. Are we just scared to admit that the old work-for-survival model is already broken?

4 comments

4 Comments

kai_webb912mo ago

That Finland chart is one city for two years. That's a tiny test run. Real world rollout means way more people for way longer. Where does the money actually come from? Tax hikes would kill the small business growth you're praising. Most people I know would just work less, not start companies. Sounds good on paper but the math never adds up.

jamief672mo ago

Read the actual study, @kai_webb91.

blair_nguyen6d ago

Kai over here acting like Finland ran a scam on us all. Yeah it was a small test but that's how you figure stuff out before you blow it up to national scale. Better a two year test than the same tired speeches about "fear makes people work" being treated as gospel. And the math never adds up until someone actually tries it, then suddenly everyone's an accountant.

reese_hayes712mo ago

Look, jamief67 is right to point to the study. That Finland data is real. It shows giving people a floor to stand on lets them breathe and actually try things. The old model is broken because it runs on fear. Fear makes people compliant, not creative. Of course the funding is the big fight, but we have to stop pretending the current system is some perfect math equation. It isn't.