Replacing existential fear with security

Press release from the initiative “Mein Grundeinkommen” (My Basic Income)

The association Mein Grundeinkommen is giving away 30 basic incomes of 1,000 euros a month for six months. “It is time for a basic income that replaces existential fear with security” is the motto. They will be raffled in Berlin on 1 April, with a livestream.

No other political idea is causing as much of a stir during the current corona pandemic as the basic income: a representative survey carried out this week by the polling institute Civey shows that a majority of Germans support introducing a basic income in response to the economic consequences. Within just a few days, a quarter of a million people signed the petition by Berlin resident Tonia Merz calling for a temporary basic income for freelancers.

The non-profit association Mein Grundeinkommen (German) is already one step ahead of the debate and is putting into practice what politicians have yet to agree on: on 1 April the association is giving away 30 unconditional basic incomes of 1,000 euros a month for six months, with a total value of 240,000 euros.

Michael Bohmeyer, founder of Mein Grundeinkommen, explains:

“It is becoming clear now: our social contract is not crisis-proof. We need a basic income that replaces growing existential fear with security. 41 per cent of Germans have no assets. Freelancers are facing Hartz IV (basic welfare) because of the corona crisis. Anyone put on short-time work or forced to take unpaid leave to look after their children will run up debts. The basic income breaks this downward spiral. It means unbureaucratic security instead of complicated emergency programmes.”

Michael Bohmeyer and the team at Mein Grundeinkommen know the concrete effects of an unconditional basic income in practice:

“The irrational survival mode we switch into in a crisis without noticing gives way to foresight and solidarity. We have observed this pattern in more than 500 people with whom we have already tried out the basic income. That is why we also explicitly support Tonia Merz’s petition.”

Anyone who registers free of charge on www.mein-grundeinkommen.de (German) from today can take part in the draw. Taking part is unconditional. All that is needed is an email address so that winners can be contacted.

Watch the draw live

The draw, held under the motto “Together we are less alone”, starts on 1 April 2020 at 7 pm and can be followed via livestream on the draw page (German).

Mein Grundeinkommen is both a non-profit start-up and a young NGO. Donations are collected via crowdfunding and raffled as unconditional basic incomes. The response is huge: founded five years ago, Mein Grundeinkommen today fuels the debate on unconditional basic income with more than 1.5 million users and more than 125,000 large and small donors.

WEBSITE: MEIN GRUNDEINKOMMEN (German)