欧洲首个受政府支持、“不用干活就拿钱”的社会福利试点项目于今年1月宣告终止。这项实验从2017年1月开始。芬兰政府随机选择大约2000名年龄25岁至58岁的失业公民，每月向他们发放560欧元的保障性收入，不要求他们找工作。即便这些人找到工作，每月依然会收到这份钱。
2015年，芬兰的失业率一度达到10%，创下17年来的最高值。因为按照此前的社会福利制度，很多人失业后不愿意找工作——失业补助往往比做临时工挣的钱多。另一方面，多项研究显示，长期失业者将在职场上面临比短期失业者多得多的挑战，“想回但回不去”。
在经济危机、老龄化加剧的背景下，如何提供足够的激励让长期失业者重回劳动市场，成为了历届芬兰政府的心头之痛。芬兰中右翼政府倡导财政紧缩，致力于减少社会保障支出、降低失业率。支持这项实验是想确认，无条件收入是否能激励民众找份带薪工作。
本篇课程首发于2019年2月12日，选自 The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/08/finland-free-cash-experiment-fails-to-boost-employment
作者：Jon Henley
Finland's 'free cash' experiment fails to boost employment
① Europe's first national government-backed experiment in giving citizens free cash failed to encourage its participants to work more as organisers had hoped.
② Under Finland's two-year basic income trial, which ended a month ago, a random sample of 2,000 unemployed people aged 25 to 58 were paid a monthly €560 (£475), with no requirement to seek or accept employment. Any recipients who took a job continued to receive the same amount.
③ Aimed mainly at seeing whether a guaranteed income might incentivise people to take up more low-paid or temporary work by removing their concerns about losing benefits, the scheme was strictly speaking not a universal basic income (UBI) trial since the payments were made to a restricted group and not enough to live on.
④ Finland's centre-right government's original aim was to expand the trial after two years in a bid to combat unemployment, which has been persistently high for years.
⑤ But it changed tack last April, instead imposing benefits sanctions on unemployed people who refused work. Joblessness has since hit a 10-year low of 6.6%.
▍生词好句
experiment /ɪkˈsperɪmənt/: n. 试验；实验
boost /buːst/: vt. 推动；增强 (increase)
boost tourism: 促进旅游业的发展
boost one's confidence: 增强某人的信心
government-backed: 政府支持的 (government-supported)
participant /pɑːˈtɪsɪpənt, pɑːrˈtɪsɪpənt/: n. 参与者
basic income: 基本收入
trial /traɪəl/: n. 试验
random /ˈrændəm/: adj. 随机的
sample /ˈsɑːmpəl, ˈsæmpəl/: n. 样本
recipient /rɪˈsɪpiənt/: n. 接受者
guarantee /ˌɡærənˈtiː/: vt. 保证；担保
incentivise /ɪnˈsentɪvaɪz/: vt. 激励 (encourage)
temporary work /ˈtempərəri, ˈtempəreri/: 临时工作
scheme /skiːm/: n. 计划
in a bid to: 力求；为了 (in order to)
combat unemployment /kəmˈbæt, ˈkɑːmbæt/: 降低失业率
tack /tæk/: n. 方法 (the way you deal with a particular situation or a method that you use to achieve something)
impose /ɪmˈpəʊz/: vt. 强制实行
sanction /ˈsæŋkʃən/: n. 裁撤；制裁
▍词汇拓展
1. boost: vt. 推动；增强 (increase) 的意思
boost tourism: 促进旅游业的发展
boost one's confidence: 增强某人的信心
The new resort area has boosted tourism.
新的度假区促进了旅游业的发展。
The win boosted the team's confidence.
这场胜利增强了队员们的信心。
2. government-backed: 政府支持的 (government-supported)
名词加连字符加过去分词：
family-led company 家族企业
The company is led by the family.
student-centred class 以学生为中心的课堂
The class is centred on students.
3. incentivise: vt. 激励 (encourage)
Regulators have been trying to incentivise consumers.
监管机构一直在努力刺激消费者多消费。
4. 选自《孟子·告子下》
So it is that whenever Heaven invests a person with great responsibilities, it first tries his resolve, exhausts his muscles and bones, starves his body, leaves him destitute, and confounds his every endeavour. In this way his patience and endurance are developed, and his weaknesses are overcome.
故天将降大任于是人也，必先苦其心志，劳其筋骨，饿其体肤，空乏其身，行拂乱其所为，所以动心忍性，曾益其所不能。
▍责任编辑
高晴、李焕
▍内容校对
武志琳、章晓丹
网友评论