Gironde begins tests on universal revenue
The Gironde department in Nouvelle Aquitaine has been testing models of a universal revenue by asking residents to try out an online simulator which shows different methods of both allocating the money and how it could be financed.
The project will depend on the willingness of a new government to continue tests, but the present government has shown interest, with former prime ministers Manuel Valls and Bernard Cazeneuve both keen on further details. The project could guarantee a base income for millions while perhaps cutting back on other social payments.
Gironde and the left-wing Fondation Jean Jaurès have been working on the project for several months and department president Jean-Luc Gleyze said it was planned with a nod to today’s working life, which was much less structured than in the past with some workers being left behind by economic progress.
Speaking at a council presentation on the proposals, Mr Gleyze said the ‘universal’ aspect could also mean that more people who were entitled to social benefits could receive them as the numbers who missed out were not well understood.
Although any progress must wait for the arrival of a new president this month and their choices for a new government (with the Assemblée Nationale elections on June 11 and 18 followed by the Sénat in September) the Gironde experiment has so far shown residents’ wishes on how the system could be organised and paid for.
Responses suggested an average universal revenue of €800 with a supplement in ‘local money’ (which could only be used in Gironde businesses) of up to €200. This would be paid for through new taxes, a rise in taxes on the better-off but no change in VAT or other welfare benefits.
If the project is approved to go beyond the simple testing phase, sample residents in city, town and rural areas would be followed by the Caisse d’Allocations Familiales de Gironde to see how it could work in a real-life situation.
