Previously my interest in Finland was limited to Moonins and the filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki. Now, however, with Finland recently becoming the first country in Europe to launch a Universal Basic Income pilot (Switzerland had a referendum on the issue last year – though it was rejected, 22% of voters were in favour of every citizen receiving £1,755 per month regardless of whether they work or not), I'm thinking of moving there. Admittedly the project is only available to two thousand unemployed folk, and they only receive £480 a month (it’s called Basic for a reason), but it’s a start. France and the Netherlands have run similar pilots recently, and Scotland is to run a trial over the next few years.

Being paid to do what we want to do (even if that’s nothing!) in life is such an obvious and natural yet radical idea, and yet, capitalism – that most unfair and utterly pointless of systems – still bizarrely seems popular.

(The nutter eco-warrior who’s threatened me a few times would earn £30K for picking up our rubbish; someone else would earn £30K for watching bad YouTube films all day; someone else might want to work in an office and would still get the £30K on top of their office earnings; someone else would travel and take photos. There may even be some people who would want to work in offices.)

(Or how about we’re all paid the same amount as our age? So, if you’re 18, you're paid £18,000; if you're 57, yup, you're paid £57,000. It’s that simple. Why not? The wage system is so unfair. We’re all doing essentially the same thing in an office (i.e. we’re all in an office, staring at screens all day). I know people paid £120K a year, and others on £22K a year. They’re essentially doing the same thing (giving up their precious time to work for a faceless corporation); they’re of the same intelligence and capability as each other, yet the gulf in pay is horrific.)

Previously on Barnflakes
The dream of Basic Income for everyone