On June 5th, 2016, Switzerland becomes the first country in the world to hold a national referendum on the introduction of an Unconditional Basic Income (UBI). Basic income is the idea that each and every citizen should receive an equal salary for citizenship that is separate and in addition to all other earnings, and sufficient to cover basic needs like food, clothing, and housing. It's essentially an income floor instead of a net, or a trap.



It is vital to understand that this idea and therefore this vote is not just important for Switzerland. It is important for the world, a world where inequality continues to dangerously increase, and where advances in technology look to only accelerate this growing inequality. That you are even voting on this idea at all went and caught the attention of the entire world, so much so that an increasing number of fellow forward-thinking countries are now even looking to test the idea themselves whether you vote yes or no, countries like Finland, the Netherlands, and Canada. Perhaps most importantly, the idea is being discussed from all political viewpoints. Like the idea of roads or the exploration of space, the idea of basic income is not left or right, it's forward. It's visionary.



And so WE, the signers of this petition and fellow citizens of this planet, therefore urge the citizens of Switzerland to embrace this historic opportunity to lead the way forward. Show the world what's possible when poverty is eliminated and people gain the power to say no to insufficient wages and unacceptable hours. Show us all how much money there is to be saved through preventatively reducing the costs of crime, poor health, and bureaucracy. Show each and every nation what it looks like when a government is truly run by and for the People. Show the history books of the future which country had the courage, the foresight, and the global leadership to be the first to begin the transformation from a society oriented around scarcity to one organized around increasing abundance, and through that collective innovation, the unleashed potential of its citizenry.



Show the world the democratic recognition of universal economic rights that is unconditional basic income.



The opportunity is yours, and your support is undersigned.