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In the midst of the Corona crisis, there is no time for experiments. With this argument, the Minister of Justice, Karin Keller-Sutter (56), fought a few months ago for a no to the limitation initiative of the SVP, with success.
Some people from Zurich claim the exact opposite. “The time for experiments has come”, according to the conviction of a group of local politicians from the SP, GLP and FDP and several non-partisan politicians. They have come together to form a committee that is making a new attempt to introduce an unconditional basic income.
A minimum of 500 people in the city of Zurich should receive a living wage for at least three years without having to work. The amount decreases the more someone earns. Everything should be paid for by the city. The text represents a corresponding municipal popular initiative. In a first step, the committee is now looking for 300 people through the online collection platform Wecollect who will commit to help with the collection of signatures. 3,000 signatures are required in the city of Zurich to launch an initiative.
This time it’s supposed to be a test
So far, all attempts to introduce an unconditional basic income or pilot attempts to do so have failed. In 2016, the electorate rejected a national popular initiative with 77 percent no votes. A project in the Rheinau community in Zurich was wrecked two years later in the crowdfunding phase.
But the proponents don’t give up. In Zurich now they want to try again, although the national initiative of four years ago had no chance even in the left-wing city. Unlike that referendum, it is now only a question of whether the basic income should be tested for a limited time. The experiment must be scientifically accompanied.
Knackeboul is on board
The initiators include not only leftists, but also Nicola Forster (35), Co-chairman of the GLP of the Canton of Zurich. Another member of the Zurich committee is rapper and host David Kohler (38) alias Knackeboul.
The committee believes that its initiative is affecting the population at this time. “The crisis shows that financial security cannot be guaranteed today,” says Lara Can (22), co-initiator and former president of the city of Zurich Juso. But from the point of view of the initiators, financial security in particular is essential for a “courageous and fulfilling life.”
You say you want to create facts with the project. Among other things, it should be clarified, for example, how high a basic income should be and what it does for people. What if it turns out that it has no positive effects? You can affirm, “We are completely open minded.”
