Christian Engström at the Nordic Conference on Basic Income 2016 in Copenhagen

 

Nordic conference on Basic Income in Copenhagen

I will be speaking at the Nordic Conference on Basic Income Pilots in Copenhagen this Friday, September 23, 2016.

Here are the slides I will be using.

This talk introduces a concrete proposal for a basic income system for Sweden, including a cost estimate and financing. The basic income would be 8,333 SEK (900 EUR) per month for anybody between 19 and 65 who lives in Sweden and has no other income.

My slides for the presentation

When someone on basic income starts to make money the basic income will be reduced, but never with 100%, so there is always an incentive to work if you can. The cost of this system would be covered in full by letting the basic income replace the current systems for social assistance (försörjningsstöd), student aid and unemployment benefits, and by removing the VAT discounts that certain industries enjoy. To make the proposal politically realistic, there would be no raise in income taxes, and no reduction of current sickness or family benefits.

Although the model is for Sweden, I am hoping that basic income activists in other countries may be interested in the general principles behind the Swedish proposal. I am convinced that at least the Nordic countries, and probably most other European countries as well, are similar enough to Sweden to make it possible to construct corresponding models for those countries.

The full proposal is available here, but only in Swedish so far. When I get back from Copenhagen I plan to start publishing an English translation of the full proposal here on this blog.

See you in Copenhagen if you are going there!