Monday 16 January 2017

Boosting the freelance economy

Michael Grothaus at Fast Company argues that a universal basic income could help make the freelance economy more possible and realistic.

He cites Marjukka Turunen, the head of the legal unit in benefit services at KELA, the Finnish government social security institution that is overseeing the project.

"Studies have shown one of the top reasons more people don’t become entrepreneurs is because they don’t have the capital to both support themselves and start a business at the same time. This means they can’t afford to leave their current job to start their own small business," argues Marjukka Turunen. "UBI would give them a solid financial foundation to do this."

He also draws on Guy Standing from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network, who also believes that the UBI could boost the freelance economy in five ways.

1. It could help people retrain for in-demand jobs.

2. It could inspire people to take risks and start their own businesses.

3. It could help freelancers maintain health insurance coverage.

4. It could help freelancers say "no" to abusive clients.

5. It could help compensate freelancers for the unpaid work they do.

SOURCE

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