Language: DUTCH Evelien Meester, “Is een onvoorwaardelijk basisinkomen juridisch mogelijk?” [Is an unconditional basic income legally possible?]

Dutch social policy website Sociaalweb runs an analysis piece on whether the local unconditional basic income experiments being developed in the Netherlands are compatible with national law.

Expert judicial commentator Evelien Meester finds that introducing a basic income and sweeping away the current social security framework would be entirely compatible with the Dutch constitution.

However, Meester warns that a basic income would need to be “pretty high” from the outset as the government would be obliged to set it at living wage levels if it is to serve as a legally compliant alternative to existing social rights.

Evelien Meester “Is een onvoorwaardelijk basisinkomen juridisch mogelijk?” Sociaalweb, June 4, 2015.