, Columnist
Swiss Rejection Won't Doom Universal Basic Income
Their referendum was ill-conceived. That doesn't mean the idea itself should be dismissed.
The Swiss weren't interested.
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Nobody expected the conservative Swiss to approve the idea of a hefty monthly payout to everyone in the country without exception. The proposal for a universal basic income (UBI) -- a monthly payout of 2,500 francs ($2,560) -- was rejected by 77 percent of Swiss voters in Sunday’s referendum, just as their government recommended.
That’s a shame, because the idea of a UBI is not necessarily utopian; it just may be a bit before its time. With a less hasty, radical approach, it might still gain traction.