Universal basic income: an experiment | DW Documentary

Universal basic income: an experiment | DW Documentary

DW Documentary

Published on 9 Sep 2017

What's it like to live on a universal basic income? How does it change a person? A Berlin-based experiment hopes to find out.

Universal basic income is the idea that everybody, regardless of their financial circumstances, should get a wage without having to provide any service in return. It’s been around for decades and is regularly discussed in Europe. Finland was the first country to test the model. Now a private initiative in Berlin is raffling it off as part of an experiment: how do we live when we get it?

"It was such a relief, I cried” was Valerie's reaction to winning the raffle. "It was heaven-sent.” She had just given birth to Noé and couldn't work and her bank account was empty. Then baby Noé won the basic income raffle - its youngest winner. It was a huge opportunity for the young family - 1000 Euros a month for a year with no strings attached. Anyone can participate in the initiative and donate to it, just like a lottery. The aim is to let the winners find out for themselves what it's like to live on a universal basic income. A film crew accompanied some of the winners for nine months. How does it affect them? How does it change their lives? What can they do with it, what can they do differently? Can they seize opportunities? Valerie fell in love during an internship in Mali and became pregnant. Now she wants to use the year to create job prospects for herself as an interior designer so she’ll be able to take care of her young family. 

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