BASEL, Switzerland — Swiss voters Sunday rejected by a huge margin the introduction of an unconditional basic income.
The proposal to guarantee every adult a minimum monthly income of $2,535 lost 76.9 percent to 23.1 percent. It could have, over time, lead to scrapping unemployment, social and pension payments.
The initiators of the referendum still called the vote as a “sensational success,” saying it was “significantly more that we expected,” spokesman Daniel Haeni said. “It means the debate goes on, and also internationally.”
The main reason the proposal was rejected was a lack of clarity and doubts about how it would be financed, said Claude Longchamp, head of gfs.bern.
The progressives who proposed the basic income said it would be a necessary reaction to the digital revolution, which has resulted in fewer jobs.
The Swiss government was opposed to the concept, arguing that austerity measures or tax increases would have been necessary to finance it.
The government also worried that the basic income would attract many migrants.
Left-wing parties in Germany and the anti-globalist Five Star Movement in Italy also advocate basic income.
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