Sunday, 20 December 2015
Finland Creates Comprehensive Social Economy as Canada Dithers
By guaranteeing all its citizens a basic income of 800 Euros monthly, as has recently been reported in The Independent newspaper -http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/finland-plans-to-give-every-citizen-800-euros-a-month-and-scrap-benefits-a6762226.html - Finland will act while Canada continues to procrastinate about the idea of a guaranteed annual income that has been discussed since at least the 1970's. The advantages for people and governments are too many to list here but reducing the anxiety of job loss induced poverty for many and maintaining a basic level of purchasing demand in the economy are two key benefits. Selecting socially purposed providers for one's purchases, as advocated by TorontotheBetter, to avoid many of the ills that mainstream capitalism is heir to, is still vital, but Finland's basic income inclusion of all citizens in their economy by right rather than good fortune constitutes a basic move towards a comprehensive social economy that all nations can learn from.