Swiss reject basic income but are passing preimplantation genetic screening of embryos

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Switzerland voted against the basic guaranteed income by 77% to 22%.

Switzerland became the first country in the world to hold a nationwide vote on introducing an unconditional basic income. Despite a spectacular pro campaign, there was no hope of it winning a majority.

“The campaigners failed to present a convincing funding scheme for their proposal. But they managed to launch a broad debate about an unconditional basic income,” says senior political scientist Claude Longchamp.

The promoters – a group of humanists, artists and entrepreneurs – have admitted defeat but they have pledged to continue their campaign.

“There is a genuine interest in the issue as numerous public discussions have shown,” says Oswald Sigg of the initiative committee.

In comparison, an initiative aimed at a fundamental overhaul of the consumer tax system won just 8% approval in a nationwide vote last year – the worst ballot box defeat since 1971. And a highly controversial proposal by a pacifist group to abolish Switzerland’s armed forces had the backing of 35.6% of voters in 1989.

In 2014, an initiative calling for a minimum monthly income of CHF4,000 was rejected by 76.3% of voters.

The Swiss appearing to be voting to allow the screening of IVF (in vitro fertilized embryo aka test tube babies) Allowing genetic screening is leading 60% to 40%.

Nextbigfuture has predicted that there will be large impact from the selection of IVF embryos based on intelligence. There is still more understanding of the genetic basis for intelligence but hundreds genes have been discovered that relate to intelligence.

SOURCE- Switzerland