- Switzerland is set to vote on a proposal that wants to pay everyone 2,500 Swiss francs (£1,700) a month regardless of whether people are working or not.
If the plans go through, it will become the first country in the world to provide a basic unconditional monthly income, and they are already the first country to vote on the matter.
The idea, which has been put forward by a group of intellectuals who insist people will still want to work and get jobs, has not received positive interest from either left and right sided politicians.
I somehow don't see this going through (though that's just a cynical, relatively uneducated opinion) but I would love to see this go through as an experiment.
Same country that outlawed minarets by public plebiscite in 2009 and only gave women the vote in 1971 nationally with the last regional canton granting it in 1990. It has also voted for policies that are in direct contradiction to its international treaties like the 2014 referendum on immigration restrictions. So though there are plenty of innovative socialist ideas getting past the 100,000 petition stage to get to national referendum, there are plenty of examples of a generally conservative voter population blocking them entering into law.
Yep, Switzerland is a Direct Democracy (or incredibly close). Colorado is similar. The Colorado Constitution says anyone can get anything on the ballot if they get 5% of the voting population's signature. If the ballot passes, the legislature is required to implement it. That's how marijuana was legalised. Incidentally, a petition for universal healthcare passed the mark this year, and will be on the Colorado 2016 ballot. Maybe. I don't know about Switzerland, but in Colorado, and most of the US, the electorate and the legislature are often misaligned.This nation can get a vote for something if it gets enough signatures/money/some other thing.
It's not really significant that this is happening, and will likely be shot down.
"Hey Switzerland, great idea. We will give you $120k to help it Coke to fruition in exchange for owning 20% of your country. You now have 3 months to get your act together so we can sell you to a large VC firm. Good luck."