Swiss city votes to reject basic income experiment
Voters in the Swiss city of Lucerne voters have overwhelmingly rejected a basic income experiment. Some 69% of voters turned down the people’s initiative at the weekend.
In total, 13,457 people rejected the test, while 6,003 voters were in favour. The voter turnout was 37%.
+ Basic income plan clearly rejected by Swiss voters
The initiative of a non-party committee wanted to test the model of an unconditional basic income locally for its usability in an urban, scientifically supported pilot project.
A group of people would have received a basic monthly income for at least 36 months, regardless of their assets, income and professional status. There was no provision for anything in return.
In Zurich, the initiative for a pilot project for an unconditional basic income was rejected in September 2022 with a negative vote of 53.9%.
At the national level, the “Living in Dignity – for an Affordable Basic Income” initiative was launched in 2021 but failed in mid-January of this year. And in 2016, Swiss voters rejected an initiative for an unconditional basic income with a negative vote of 77%.
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