1 year later ... was the idea of universal income evoked by Yellow Vests?
The basic income has just blown its first candle in France ... and it continues
A little over a year ago, three French people were drawn to receive 1 000 euros per month ... without any compensation or income conditions. The initiative, called MonRevenudeBase and launched by the environmentalist Julien Bayou, aimed to test in real conditions a basic income financed by crowdfunding for the very first time in France. Since then, five people have benefited and the next draw is scheduled for January 31.
All to your agendas! The next draw to earn a basic income of 1 000 euros per month for one year is expected on January 31. The association MonRevenudeBase (1), launched by environmental activist Julien Bayou, has managed to collect 12 000 euros from generous private donors for the sixth consecutive time.
The initiative, the first of its kind in France, officially started in September 2017 and soon had an unexpected success. Barely a week after its launch, the bar 26 000 euros had been crossed. And in the first draw, in early December, it was finally three basic income that could be funded through crowdfunding. Everyone can claim it without any distinction of age, sex, resources or even nationality.
Among the pioneers of this adventure, there is Brigitte, in her fifties, then a leather goods saleswoman, and for whom the experience is coming to an end. "There you go! The end of a great adventure that is coming to an end. A stress-free year, where we don't ask ourselves any questions when the bills arrive!", She explains. "I saved part of the basic income and this money will be welcome because I lost my job a little over a month ago."
A necessity more than a whim
This situation reflects the main lesson that can be learned from this first year of basic income: it responds much more often to a need than a whim. Thus, for the thousands of people registered in the draw who have testified, the basic income would allow them to make life choices, face incompressible expenses, improve the daily, and live with dignity. Few would stop working.
"It is up to everyone to imagine what a basic income could bring in their life. At the very least, it is a safety net allowing them not to slip into too great a precariousness. And a society where precariousness is controlled and where its citizens have the opportunity to flourish, isn't it the wish of everyone? From utopia to reality, the next step is basic income ", analyzes Virginie, member of the association, in charge of relations with beneficiaries.
Nicole, a forty-year-old West Indian, was the last to be drawn. "I struggled to pay my bills, to put gasoline in my car to go to work and my son and I had less than 100 euros per month to ensure the daily newspaper… We were not living, we were surviving. radically changed. I sleep better, I allow myself certain medical treatments that were previously too expensive, and I had two unexpected pleasures: going to the hairdresser and going to a restaurant! ", she says.
A proposal for a law for territorial experimentation
"Day after day, thanks to these pioneers, we are demonstrating that basic income is not a utopia but a line of work," explains Julien Bayou. To go further, the spokesperson for Europe-Ecologie Les Verts supports the adoption of a proposal for a law on territorial experimentation (2) tabled last October by 18 socialist departments, on the model of experimentation " zero unemployment territories ".
They wish to be able to pay, during three years, a basic income fixed either to 570 euros (RSA merger / activity premium), or to 740 euros per month (RSA / activity premium / APL merger), unconditional and automatic. It would address 60 000 French from 18 years for a budget cost of 19 million euros per year. At the end of this period, an assessment will be made to decide whether to continue, generalize or abandon the introduction of a basic income. The text must be examined at the end of January by the Assembly.
https://www.novethic.fr/actualite/socia ... 46763.html
