Feb 17, 2019

The abrupt end of Finland's universal basic income trial

Felix Salmon, author of Capital

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

It's not just the Trump administration that has problems with expectations management. A recent basic-income trial in Finland was cut short by the incoming conservative government, before preliminary results came out showing improved health and reduced stress among people receiving a no-strings €560 ($640) per month.

Why it matters: No one seems to have thought much about what would happen when the trial came to an end. One recipient told the Huffington Post: “We all are in big trouble now to be honest, because what would happen to you if your income decreased by €600?”

Go deeper ... Podcast: The growth of universal basic income

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Axios
Updated 3 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 6:30 p.m. ET: 18,643,633 — Total deaths: 703,127 — Total recoveries — 11,206,409— Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 6:30 p.m. ET: 4,811,128 — Total deaths: 157,690 — Total recoveries: 1,528,979 — Total tests: 58,239,438 — Map.
  3. Public health: Florida surpasses 500,000 confirmed cases — Fauci calls U.S. coronavirus testing delays "totally unacceptable."
  4. Business: America's next housing crisis.
  5. States: Virginia launches contact tracing app using specs from Apple and Google.
  6. Politics: White House, Democrats remain "trillions of dollars apart" on stimulus talks.
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

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The big picture: Nuclear war remains the single greatest present threat to humanity — and one that is poised to grow as emerging technologies, like much faster missiles, cyber warfare and artificial intelligence, upset an already precarious nuclear balance.

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White House, Democrats remain "trillions of dollars apart" on stimulus talks

Meadows and Mnuchin. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

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The state of play: Meadows told reporters, "At this point we’re either going to get serious about negotiating and get an agreement in principle or — I’ve become extremely doubtful that we’ll be able to make a deal if it goes well beyond Friday.”

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