Basic Income Initiative

Action of the “Generation Basic Income” in 2013 to celebrate the submission of the Federal People's Initiative: Eight million five-year-olds on the Bundesplatz .

The Basic Income Initiative , also known as the Basic Income Initiative in Switzerland , is a socio-political organization in Germany and Switzerland. It strives for an unconditional basic income for all residents of a country.

history

The initiative was launched in 2006 by the German artist Enno Schmidt (* 1958) and the Swiss entrepreneur Daniel Häni (* 1966). Just like Götz Werner's related initiative, Enterprise of the Future in Germany , it sees itself primarily as a so-called “cultural impulse” in the sense of anthroposophy and not initially as a direct political advance. It assumes that a “ paradigmatic cultural change has to be carried out” before political implementations can be considered. The unrestricted basic income for everyone is "a way of thinking about the society in which we live and about the society in which we want to live," says Daniel Häni.

The initiative's network consists of people from all over the German-speaking area. The initiative is discussed in the German and Swiss press; concrete political implementations also relate to Germany (Bundestag election 2009) and Switzerland (from the point of view of the initiators with a “long-term goal of a referendum ” , also in Germany?). The association is a member of the Basic Income Network (BIEN) . The seat of the "Enterprise Middle" is in Basel .

The individual initiatives have also been (formally) networked since March 2011.

The initiative, whose sponsors are active in Germany and Switzerland , aims for “long-term concrete implementation in Switzerland” - this is the assessment from an anthroposophical and / or German point of view. The reasons lie in the - from, purely German (!), View of a "centralized" (?!) Political system - relatively manageable size of the country, the high standard of living and education and above all in the possibilities of political decision-making instruments , namely the Popular initiative .

Federal popular initiative for an unconditional basic income financed by energy steering taxes 2010/11

A popular initiative for an unconditional basic income , which was launched in 2010 by a group of initiators from green circles and financed by energy steering taxes , which emphasized and exclusively specified ecological financing , did not materialize due to insufficient support (less than 100,000 signatures). Incentive taxes for non-renewable energies, building rights, land use and water use fees should be the financing basis.

The popular initiative had the following text (wording):

The federal constitution is amended as follows:

Art. 41 para. 1 introductory sentence and let. hj (new)

^{1 In} addition to personal responsibility and private initiative, the Confederation, cantons and communes are committed to ensuring that:

H. social security is guaranteed by an unconditional basic income financed through energy steering taxes;

i. all compulsory social security contributions, all taxes to finance social security and all compulsory pension fund contributions are replaced by energy steering taxes to finance an unconditional basic income;

j. the energy steering taxes are financed through source steering taxes for non-renewable energies, building lease interest, land use and water use fees.

Federal Popular Initiative for an Unconditional Basic Income 2012/16

also common: Basic Income Initiative

French: Initiative populaire fédérale, Pour un revenu de base inconditionnel

Italian: Iniziativa popolare federale, Per un reddito di base incondizionato

On March 14, 2012, a federal popular initiative for an unconditional basic income was registered and started on April 11, 2012 after a preliminary examination by the Federal Chancellery and publication in the Federal Gazette.

The popular initiative had the following text (wording):

The federal constitution is amended as follows:

Art. 110a (new) Unconditional basic income

¹ The federal government ensures the introduction of an unconditional basic income.

² The basic income is intended to enable the entire population to live in dignity and participate in public life.

³ The law regulates in particular the financing and the amount of the basic income.

BIEN-Switzerland also participated in the popular initiative . Responsible for the initiative committee, the initiators: Gabriel Barta, Daniel Häni , Christian Müller, Ursula Piffaretti, Ina Praetorius , Franziska Schläpfer, Oswald Sigg , Daniel Straub. The signatures were submitted on October 4, 2013.

In August 2014, the Federal Council published its negative opinion on the popular initiative. In December 2015, after detailed deliberations in both chambers, parliament passed a recommendation to reject the popular initiative (the parliamentarians formally accepted the federal resolution in the final vote).

Vote 2016

Results by canton

In the referendum in the week of June 5, 2016, the initiative was rejected by the voters (the sovereign , consisting of the people and the cantons ). 23.1% of the voters and none of the cantons opted for this, the participation in this proposal was 47.0%

Yes (0 ⁰ / ₂ stands)

No (20 ⁶ / ₂ Scores)

Basic income initiative - results by canton

Canton	Yes (%)	No (%)	Participation (%)
Aargau	18.8	81.2	44.5
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	20.8	79.2	48.9
Appenzell Innerrhoden	12.6	87.4	37.9
Basel-Country	22.9	77.1	45.1
Basel city	36.0	64.0	51.4
Bern	23.8	76.2	45.3
Freiburg	24.1	75.9	43.4
Geneva	34.7	65.3	51.6
Glarus	18.2	81.8	37.0
Grisons	17.8	82.2	42.9
law	34.4	65.6	39.0
Lucerne	18.0	82.0	46.8
Neuchâtel	31.2	68.8	50.3
Nidwalden	13.2	86.8	49.9
Obwalden	13.8	86.2	49.2
Schaffhausen	24.5	75.5	65.4
Schwyz	13.9	86.1	47.9
Solothurn	21.2	78.8	47.9
St. Gallen	18.6	81.4	44.4
Ticino	21.9	78.1	48.6
Thurgau	19.2	80.8	43.2
Uri	15.5	84.5	37.3
Vaud	24.7	75.3	48.4
Valais	19.2	80.8	49.6
train	16.4	83.6	51.8
Zurich	25.1	74.9	48.6
Swiss Confederation	23.1	76.9	47.0

Financing, taxes, social systems - suggestions and discussion

The initially envisaged proposal, taken over by the German co-initiators, of financing through a value added tax that was at least higher than the EU level was dropped after public discussion and criticism. The value added tax burdened (as consumption tax) above all the poor. The initiators did not accept the proposal for a simplification of the social systems and the principle of cost neutrality (no increase in the levy / tax burden), which is common with most basic income approaches. The initiative text leaves this option open. In the discussion prior to the vote in the week of June 5, 2016, the financing proposal through VAT reappeared - albeit at very high rates of over 50%.

It was not until March 2016 that Oswald Sigg , in an interview with Schweiz am Sonntag , brought in the financing with a transaction tax, which he describes as “a new type of micro-tax” and which “the financial entrepreneur Felix Bolliger invented”. He went on to say that "Professors Marc Chesney and Anton Gunzinger and [he] have been developing the Automatic Micro Tax on Total Payments (AMTD) as an alternative to today's complex tax system for a year and a half." On payment transactions, which is “300 times as large as the gross domestic product”, he suggests a burden of z. B. 0.05% before “The basic income would be financed with it. According to the principle: whoever moves more money pays more. " Over 90 percent of the volume comes "from the financial sector, such as high-frequency trading ." Further on, when asked about taxes for everyone: “Do we not have to pay any more taxes in the future?” He said: “Yes. But only 1 or 2 ‰ of each payment amount ».

Before the vote, Florian Habermacher and Gebhard Kirchgässner also submitted their discussion paper The Unconditional Basic Income: An (unfortunately) unaffordable idea from 2013 in an updated version from April 2016 to the public as well as the media that included it in their arguments (e.g. B. NZZ ).

In May 2016, Marc Chesney , University of Zurich , said in an interview with Handelszeitung . Chesney believes that a basic income can be implemented in Switzerland for Swiss citizens and foreigners with a C permit . But he finds that without proper funding, the project is weak. He thinks it is wrong to want to finance the approx. CHF 200 billion annually through higher VAT, as the initiators suggest. On the other hand, he finds the idea of ​​a micro-tax much more convincing, which "comes from the Zurich financial entrepreneur Felix Bolliger" (? - see transaction tax ) . It would burden the electronic financial flows and payments, which in Switzerland amount to around CHF 100,000 billion annually - buying and selling stocks or bonds, daily payments, withdrawing money or online banking. This sum corresponds to around 160 times the gross domestic product (GDP) of Switzerland. With their taxation of z. For example, 0.2% would be around CHF 200 billion annually - in this example more than the total tax income (which taxes ?, see “almost all other taxes” in the next sentence) in Switzerland today, including today's value added tax. If you would increase this tax rate to z. B. 0.4% increase, and the annual income to around CHF 400 billion, one could abolish "almost all other taxes" and (among other things) the tax declaration - but above all finance the basic income.

Starting points, considerations

According to the Basic Income Initiative, two social phenomena are particularly important for an unconditional basic income :

Rationalization of work

According to the initiative, social and cultural development is lagging behind technical development. For example, caring for and caring for other people, bringing up children or working for the environment on one's own initiative experience an inadequate social assessment. According to the initiative, the gradual unbundling of the work from the income purpose could substantially remove this undervaluation.

Social balance

From the point of view of the initiative comes the determination of the tax - remark: here the initiators do not agree with the text of the proposed constitutional amendment and propose an added value - (?) Tax - based on the performance and the resulting income from the time when self-sufficiency prevailed . In today's world of global " external supply", where self-sufficiency is hardly possible any more and everyone lives almost exclusively from the services of others, it makes sense to no longer pay the tax (see comment above) in the production, but at the point of purchase and To levy consumption of goods and services in the form of a consumption tax.

Scope of redistribution

Every citizen should receive a fixed amount of money, without any preconditions, without a means test. The initiative considers the changeover to its basic income model to be largely cost-neutral. She assumes that everyone already has an income today, "otherwise they wouldn't be able to live" (Enno Schmidt). Specifically, for Switzerland, 2,500 francs (according to the initiators (?) This corresponds to around 2,000 euros in purchasing power) for adults. An age-dependent amount is suggested for children.

Types of income allocated by the public administration should be retained where their amount exceeds the basic income. Only those who have less money than the basic income would have more money. According to the initiative, the simplification through the basic income would relieve the social administration and free up funds. For the payment of the basic income in the area of ​​earned income, the state quota would increase accordingly.

criticism

economy

The critics, including the economic umbrella organization economiesuisse , warned against the increase in VAT to up to 50 percent, as was originally discussed by the initiators, and believe that a VAT of 50 percent would ruin Switzerland.

science

Eichenberger, University of Friborg / Freiburg

Reiner Eichenberger ( University of Friborg / Freiburg ) criticized the proposal in 2010 as ultimately identical to Milton Friedman's idea of ​​a negative income tax , which, however, does not work if the positive incentives are too small and the negative ones too big - in contrast to Friedman's considerations that this limit do not exceed. Eichenberger states that the additional tax burden for financing the basic income of CHF 2,500 per adult would amount to 40% for average earners who earn around CHF 70,000. Furthermore, that such enormously high taxes are demotivating and the negative incentives against gainful employment and for legal and illegal tax avoidance are obvious - "High taxes make people unfree."

Habermacher and Kirchgässner, University of St. Gallen

Florian Habermacher and Gebhard Kirchgässner ( University of St. Gallen ) published their discussion paper The Unconditional Basic Income: An (unfortunately) unaffordable idea , an updated version of which they made available to the public and the media in April 2016. In it, they discuss the ideas of the initiators - CHF 2,500 basic income per adult and CHF 625 per child, which would lead to total funding of around CHF 200 billion per year. Today's social spending, which would be eliminated, is around CHF 50 billion per year. For the basic income you would have to find around CHF 150 billion per year.

If you wanted this gap, such as B. suggested by Werner Götz to close with VAT , according to calculations by Habermacher and Kirchgässner, this would mean VAT rates of 56% (normal rate) or 50% (reduced rate). In the case of financing through income tax and (logically) tax-free basic income, a tax rate of 66% of income would be required. The combination of an unconditional basic income with enormously high tax rates would lead to distortions, evasive maneuvers - such as diving into the shadow economy and / or restriction or complete renunciation of gainful employment. The tax substrate would therefore shrink massively, which would result in a downward spiral - still and even higher tax rates and still and even stronger, further evasive maneuvers.

The idea introduced by the initiators as a financing variant that adults with a certain earned income would repay the basic income of CHF 2,500 per month in full would in practice lead to marginal tax rates of up to 100% for certain income groups and thus to further evasive maneuvers.

In addition to exorbitant tax rates, a psychological element would also put a strong pressure on the tax morale of those who still want to remain gainfully employed despite everything - the knowledge that taxes not only finance the “needy”, but basically everyone who could work but don't want to. In addition, the basic income, because it is “unconditional”, would have great appeal for “social tourists” across borders, even worldwide, which would increase costs even more, or Switzerland would have to isolate itself.

Straubhaar, University of Hamburg

In February 2016, Thomas Straubhaar rejected the initiative's proposals in an interview with the NZZ . He was “too unwilling to take risks to agree to such a system change with so many key issues remaining open” because “nothing is said about financing and nothing about the specific level of the basic income”. He is «a supporter of a low basic income that only ensures existence. This would allow efficiency gains by reducing the duplication of bureaucracy in the social services. However, the supporters in Switzerland want a high basic income, which would entail high taxes. That will lower the motivation to work. "

But he thinks that an unconditional basic income fits in with a liberal society - «Absolutely. It's about supporting the weaker. Ur-liberal is when transfers are not subject to conditions when the state does not prescribe a certain behavior. That is why the liberal economist Milton Friedman has propagated the negative income tax - and nothing else is the unconditional basic income. "

Regarding the level of the basic income, he said: «Only the subsistence level is covered, in Germany for example € 7,500 per adult per year. The subsistence level is already guaranteed for everyone through social assistance. Everything beyond that is left to your own responsibility. If you want more, you have to take action yourself ». In Germany, a "low basic income with a correspondingly low tax rate makes work worthwhile again." Regarding the protection provided by the minimum wage or protection against dismissal, which is a national law in Germany, he said: "No, this protection is no longer needed [after the introduction of a basic income]."

And in this he sees a “difference between Germany and Switzerland. Switzerland has no protection against dismissal and no minimum wage, but a comparatively liberal labor market. That's why I'm not campaigning for the basic income in Switzerland. "

Anthroposophists

Since the initiators come from anthroposophical circles, this initiative is occasionally brought into connection with the social ideas of Rudolf Steiner , the founder of anthroposophy. However, this connection is also controversial within the anthroposophical movement - Marc Desaules, chairman of the Anthroposophical Society Switzerland, sees the idea of ​​a basic income as an essential contradiction to Steiner's idea of ​​the right price and is therefore critical of this initiative. Paul Mackay, on the other hand, head of the Social Sciences Section at the Goetheanum , sees no contradiction in this.

See also

• Wage replenishment

Movie

• Basic income. Film essay , Switzerland, 2008, 100 min., Script and direction: Daniel Häni and Enno Schmidt, production: undertake mitte Trailer on Youtube and film online (full length)

Web links

• Popular initiative for an unconditional basic income (de / fr / it) - bedingungslos.ch
• Grundeinkommen.ch - Website of the Basic Income Initiative for the Swiss referendum
• NZZ - Basic Income Initiative
• WOZ Die Wochenzeitung - Basic Income Initiative
• TAZ Basic Income Initiative

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Der Bund, Tamedia Espace AG: 400,000 francs poured onto the Bundesplatz . ISSN  0774-6156 ( derbund.ch [accessed on November 19, 2019]).
2. ↑ Basic income because it is already like that - Enno Schmidt in conversation with Götz Werner , Dornach, March 23, 2012 (with video) - on grundeinkommen.tv.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Stephan Kaufmann: Basic Income: Money for Everyone - Unconditional Basic Income? A referendum is to be held in Switzerland , Berliner Zeitung , June 1, 2013.
4. ↑ Peter Unfried: Citizens' Money in Switzerland: The Tower Builder in Basel - Daniel Häni wants to bring about a referendum of 1,500 euros for everyone in Switzerland. The coffee house owner and filmmaker believes that only the Good makes, is doing well , taz 15 October 2009.
5. ↑ Welcome to the BGE circles , website by Dirk Schumacher [1] [2] - onafe2.bge-kreise.de.
6. ↑ Initiators (authorized to withdraw the popular initiative with an absolute majority): Pius Lischer, Gabriela Coray, Jörg Rechsteiner, Hans Bösch, Christian Harder, Richard Hornbacher, Bruno Lischer, Thomas Schaufelbühl, Thomas Schlegel, Urs Sennrich / Initiative Committee c / o Gabriela Coray, Mauren TG - Source: Federal People's Initiative “For an unconditional basic income financed by energy steering taxes” - Preliminary examination , announcements by the departments and offices , Federal Chancellery , May 4, 2010 - on admin.ch.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Federal People's Initiative for an Unconditional Basic Income, financed by energy steering taxes ( de / fr / it ), Federal Chancellery (19.5.10-21.11.11) - on admin.ch.
8. ↑ ^{a b c d} Federal People's Initiative for an Unconditional Basic Income (de / fr / it), Federal Chancellery - on admin.ch (as the official "portal" for the people's initiative)
9. ↑ Andreas Zumach: Vote on the monthly income , taz April 21, 2012.
10. ↑ Initiative text ( Memento of the original from June 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the initiators' web - bedingungslos.ch
11. ^ The wording of the initiative - sub-item on: Federal People's Initiative for an Unconditional Basic Income (de / fr / it), Federal Chancellery (is currently being updated continuously) - on admin.ch (as the official "portal" for the people's initiative)
12. ↑ Initiators (authorized to withdraw the popular initiative with an absolute majority) / Address of the initiative committee: Postfach, 8021 Zurich - Source: Federal People's Initiative “For an unconditional basic income” - Preliminary examination , announcements by the departments and offices , Federal Chancellery , March 27th 2012 - on admin.ch.
13. ↑ sda : Sufficient signatures collected: Swiss people can probably vote on basic income , NZZ July 31, 2013.
14. ^ Business of the Federal Council: For an unconditional basic income. Popular initiative , submission date: August 27, 2014, status of the deliberations: Done - and there also further to the Federal Council , National Council , Council of States - on parlament.ch.
15. ↑ ^{a b} Statistics Switzerland : Federal Statistical Office> Topics> 17 - Politics> Voting> Indicators> 2016> Initiative “For an unconditional basic income” , at bfs.admin.ch.
16. ↑ 22 percent for a basic income - initiator thinks that is “sensational” . Basler Zeitung , June 5, 2016.
17. ↑ ^{a b} Federal Votes: The people follow the Federal Council , NZZ June 5, 2016.
18. ↑ Swiss people reject unconditional basic income , Zeit online from June 5, 2016.
19. ↑ Federal Statistical Office: Popular initiative “For an unconditional basic income”, according to cantons - 5.6.2016 | Table. June 5, 2016, accessed August 24, 2019 . 
20. ^ ^{A b c} Hansueli Schöchli: Financing the basic income: VAT soon over 50 percent? , NZZ May 3, 2016.
21. ↑ Henry Habegger: “The solution is micro-tax” - Former Vice Chancellor Oswald Sigg wants to finance the basic income with “taxes that don't hurt anyone” , Switzerland on Sunday , March 12, 2016.
22. ↑ ^{a b} Florian Habermacher, Gebhard Kirchgässner : The unconditional basic income: An (unfortunately) unaffordable idea ( memento of the original from May 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Discussion Paper No. 2016-07, University of St. Gallen , April 2016
23. ↑ Opinion: “The basic income could be implemented in Switzerland” - The debate about the unconditional basic income is in full swing. The Zurich finance professor Marc Chesney wants to vote for it. He thinks the idea is feasible - on one condition , interview with Caroline Freilang, Handelszeitung , May 18, 2016.
24. ↑ Rudolf Minsch, Fabian Schnell: Unconditional Basic Income? - Unfortunately no ( memento of the original from April 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , dossier policy No. 21, economiesuisse , October 1, 2012.  
25. ↑ "A basic income leads to bondage and not to freedom" - The financial scientist Reiner Eichenberger advocates a capital stock instead of an unconditional basic income , Interview: Claudia Wirz, NZZ December 6, 2010.
26. ↑ on Werner Götz's proposal, see also Taxation of Consumption in Unconditional Basic Income
27. ↑ Economist Thomas Straubhaar: "Take steam out of the refugee debate" - How countries could compete for refugee care and why he sees an unconditional basic income for Germany - not Switzerland - Interview Christoph Eisenring (Berlin), NZZ February 27, 2016.
28. ↑ Claudia Aebersold: Conversation with dm founder Götz Werner: Toothpaste seller and philanthropist - The founder of the drugstore chain dm thinks nothing of “homo oeconomicus” and thinks that the economy should be there for people - and not the other way around , NZZ January 13, 2014 .
29. ↑ kro .: What would you work if your income were provided for? - Radical (thought) experiments - economists, sociologists and cultural scientists recently discussed the introduction of an unconditional basic income and the need for a tax reform in Basel - for some an economic nonsense, for others a utopia worth pursuing , NZZ October 25, 2006.
30. ↑ Michael Soukup: Who women for the basic income - There are many celebrities behind the initiative for a basic income. Proximity to the esoteric Rudolf Steiner is not an issue , Tages-Anzeiger , September 24, 2015.
31. ↑ Marc Desaules: The right price instead of the unconditional basic income , Neuchatel , summer 2013 - on economics.goetheanum.org.
32. ↑ Paul Mackay: Just Price and Basic Rent - On the Idea of ​​Basic Income ( Memento of the original from January 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - pp. 61–64 from: Countering part 3 - Texts on human dignity and human rights , ed. KunstRaumRhein / Dorothée Deimann & Simon Mugier, edition gesowip , Basel 2013 - on kunstraumrhein.ch.