What many thought was impossible happened. Spain has introduced a guaranteed income. However, it will not be due to everyone (at least currently), but only to those most in need. It will amount to 462 euros per month and will be valid for a minimum of one year. Knowing the nature of politicians, we can assume that they will extend this period at least until the next parliamentary elections. Guaranteed income - how to get it? The funds will be granted in two weeks, from 15 June. They can be applied for by Spanish citizens (we predict that their number will probably increase dramatically soon) who meet the following criteria: they are between the ages of 23 and 65; are single and their annual income did not exceed 5538 euros in 2019; will be given to families who earned a total of no more than 12184 euros last year; have lost their livelihoods this year due to the pandemic. Not everyone will get the highest amount. 462 euros will only be given to people without any income. Citizens with a child for each offspring will receive another 139 euros. The highest amount, or 1015 euros per month, will be given to non-working families with children. The others, in turn, the difference between their monthly earnings and the size of their basic income. So if you earn 362 euros and you are Spanish, the state will subsidize you 100 euros. The authorities calculate that the program will hit and help 850 thousand families, which translates into as many as 2.3 million people. We want to help! Of course, the government claims that thanks to the new program social inequalities in the country will fall, as well as the level of poverty. There are even specific predictions. Spanish politicians believe that poverty levels will fall by 80 percent. Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias, who is famous throughout Europe for his leftist views, says that the initiative will not be limited to periods of pandemic and crisis. "This income is a structural instrument that remains forever," - scares the liberals with a politician. The question is whether all this can withstand the budget. After all, the annual payments will cost the state as much as 3 billion euros. Guaranteed income in the world The sense of paying guaranteed income is a subject of debate all over the world. The matter is complicated and not as obvious as one may think. In his election campaign, the need for a universal basic income (UBI) was promoted by Andrew Yang, a would-be presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. After his political defeat (he gained trace results at the primary stage), the politician launched Humanity Forward, an initiative that promotes UBI. It was recently financially supported by Jack Dorsey. The CEO of Twitteraz believes that UBI is "long overdue", and adds that "the only way we can change policy is to experiment and show case studies of why it [UBI] works". Elon Musk, for example, feels the same way, adding in interviews that he may not be a proponent of such programs, but thinks they could become something necessary. - I think eventually we're going to have to have a basic income. It's going to be a necessity. There will be fewer and fewer jobs and jobs that a human can do better than a machine. I would like to emphasize that this is not something I dream about. I just think it will happen at some point. Automation will change a lot, almost everything will be very cheap - predicts the billionaire. Cynicism of the richest? According to the billionaires from the new technology market, such solutions will be necessary because the labor market will undergo a revolution associated with greater automation. In other words, robots will replace people in some professions. In a few years, drivers may disappear from the market (when autonomous cars will become common) or warehouse workers (machines can already perform simple work in this area). However, it is also possible that the billionaires want politicians to allow them to develop modern technologies. What is the point? Note that no politician will support a technology that can put his constituents out of work. For those in "gratitude" will not later elect him to the office he now holds. Unless, of course, that same congressman or senator has previously introduced UBI. Then the problem disappears. People may lose their jobs, but they will not be without money. What's more, they won't have to work and they will still have money to live on. Live not die! Even the People's Republic of Poland did not build us such a paradise on Earth! However, it is possible that the fears that robots will take our jobs are exaggerated and resemble the fears of the Luddists who in the era of the Industrial Revolution destroyed machines and protested against their construction, because they were to bring unemployment. As we now know, these were irrational fears. Today, thanks to the development of technology, the standard of living is higher than it was in the 19th century. New professions will be created to replace the old ones. People will simply retrain. This is a bad idea! It is not difficult to find opponents of UBI. One of them is Prof. Krzysztof Piech, a Polish economist. - This will not do much to encourage people to work," he explains.
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