How Spain has unwittingly pioneered a (sort of) universal basic income model
Spain has long had one of the highest levels of unemployment in the European Union. To all intents and purposes, a modern and prosperous country, a mature democracy, with universal health coverage and regarded enviously by many of its neighbors for its quality of life, Spain is also a popular tourism destination, attracting visitors from all over the world.
And yet, the figures show that in many parts of the country, and particularly among the young, joblessness far outstrips levels among its neighbors. If any other developed country had the kind of unemployment figures we have, there would surely be riots in the streets. With the exception of protests in 2011/12, the issue doesn’t seem to generate much anger.
How does Spain manage to keep its very high unemployment figures from generating streeet demonstrations and social conflict? Has it discovered something that other countries do not know?
One reason there is no rioting on the streets is that half of the adult population depends on some kind of government assistance, a state pension, or publicly funded employment (link in Spanish).
In several regions, people living below a certain level of income receive an allowance that allows them to maintain a modest standard of living. In this…
