Spanish Government Aims to Roll Out Basic Income ‘Soon’ (Bloomberg)
The Spanish government is working to roll out a universal basic income as soon as possible, as part of a battery of actions aimed at countering the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Economy Minister Nadia Calvino. But the government’s broader ambition is that basic income becomes an instrument “that stays forever, that becomes a structural instrument, a permanent instrument,” she said.
#Comment: Leveraging the virus crisis, the UBI people (mostly same old finance fundamentalist wallstreet types, just with a new branding) are having their moment. Most likely, the UBI will be the pretext to "simplify and streamline" (e.g. radically remove and destroy) the existing complex network of social services in the EU. Once all citizens have been indoctrinated with propaganda of "free money and progress" and the UBI is "in", the owners of the money supply can simply dial-in a ever so slightly higher inflation rate (one of many options) and silently erode the real-world purchasing power of the €1000/m within just a few years. By the time people wake up to this scheme, it will be too late: All previous social systems will be gone, replaced by a aggressive totalitarian digital police state. There are many far more sane alternatives to explore - such as universal basic infrastructure ownership - but those seem "to radical" for the old owner-class apparently.