73% of Poles would continue to work under UBI

Almost 3/4 (73 percent) of working Poles declare that they would continue their professional work if they received a benefit in the form of Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) according to the report of the Polish Economic Institute (PIE). The Institute calculated that the introduction of such a benefit – not yet provided anywhere in the world – in the amount of PLN 1,200 per month for people of productive age and PLN 600 per month for people of pre-productive age would cost PLN 376 billion per year.

Meanwhile, in 2018, the total value of social expenditure on social security and assistance in Poland amounted to PLN 343 billion (including PLN 229 billion – for pensions, PLN 54 billion  – for benefits for families and children in Poland).

Unconditional Basic Income – also known as Unconditional Guaranteed Income or Citizen Income is a cash benefit that could be paid by the state to any citizen, regardless of work, income, or level of wealth. The payment of such a benefit would be for the satisfaction of the basic needs of every human being. Still, UBI is not realized by any country in the world. However, this solution is increasingly discussed in the context of the challenges facing the currently functioning welfare state system, the Institute pointed out.

"These challenges include, among others, gaps in access to social benefits related to work on the basis of the so-called flexible forms of employment, low durability of employment related to the changing demand for employee qualifications, and the related need to change or raise qualifications in the cycle The basic income would respond to these challenges and possible gaps in the current security and social assistance system by ensuring the payment of benefits to each person without having to prove that any conditions have been met,” the report reads.

(ISBnews)