Finland has started a radical experiment: It's giving 2,000 citizens a guaranteed income, with funds that keep flowing whether participants work or not.
近期，芬兰开始实行一项激进改革试验：为2000名公民提供年保障收入，且无论这2000名公民工作与否，保障资金都将照常支付。
The program, which kicks off this month, is one of the first efforts to test a "universal basic income." Participants will receive €560 ($587) a month -- money that is guaranteed regardless of income, wealth or employment status.
该项目于本月启动，首次尝试采用“通用最低标准”。无论该项目的保障对象是否工作、财务与收入状况如何，每月都将收到560欧元（587美元）的保障金。
The idea is that a universal income offers workers greater security, especially as technological advances reduce the need for human labor. It will also allow unemployed people to pick up odd jobs without losing their benefits.
该项目旨在为劳动者提供更大的安全保障，尤其是在科技进步不断降低社会对人类劳动需求的情况下。同时，失业人群可以去做一些零工而不用担心因此而失去补助金。
The initial program will run for a period of two years. Participants were randomly selected, but had to be receiving unemployment benefits or an income subsidy. The money they are paid through the program will not be taxed.
项目的初期将持续两年。虽然项目的保障对象是随机挑选的，但必须是领失业补助或收入补贴的人。他们通过该项目获得的保障金将不会被征税。
If the program is successful, it could be expanded to include all adult Finns.
如果项目初期效果良好，可能会将所有芬兰成年公民纳为保障对象。
The Finnish government thinks the initiative could save money in the long run. The country's welfare system is complex and expensive to run, and simplifying it could reduce costly bureaucracy.
芬兰政府认为，从长远角度看，该项目将节省国家资金。芬兰的福利体系复杂、运行开销大，该项目可简化福利官僚体制，节省开支。
The change could also encourage more jobless people to look for work, because they won't have to worry about losing unemployment benefits. Some unemployed workers currently avoid part time jobs because even a small income boost could result in their unemployment benefits being canceled.
通过该项改革，失业者不必担心再就业后失去失业补助，因而将鼓励更多失业者积极寻找工作。当下，一些失业人士担心微薄的收入将导致失业补助资格被取消，不敢找临时兼职。
"Incidental earnings do not reduce the basic income, so working and ... self-employment are worthwhile no matter what," said Marjukka Turunen, the head of the legal unit at Kela, Finland's social insurance agency.
“意外收入不会减少最低收入保障，所以就业和......自主创业无论如何都值得尝试。”芬兰社会保险机构Kela的法务部主任玛居卡•图鲁宁说道。
The idea is not unique to Finland.
不过，这一做法并非芬兰独有。
Advocates point to the Italian city of Livorno, which started a guaranteed basic income for the city's 100 poorest families in June. The scheme was extended to further 100 families starting Sunday. They are receiving €500 ($525) per month.
支持者提到意大利西部港市里窝那，6月，该城市为100个最贫困的家庭提供最低收入保障，并于上周日开始将资助家庭增加为200个，被资助对象每月可收到500欧元（525美元）的保障金。
Pilot programs are also being discussed in Canada, Iceland, Uganda and Brazil.
加拿大、冰岛、乌干达和巴西也在积极讨论此类试点计划。
Switzerland last year considered giving every adult citizen a guaranteed income of $2,500 a month, but the plan was rejected in a referendum. More than 75% of voters were against the measure.
去年，瑞士曾提议为所有成年公民每月提供2500美元保障金，但最终在全民公投中被否决，75%以上的选民反对该举措。
The best example of a guaranteed income program might actually be in the US. Alaska has been giving out annual cash payments to all residents since the 1980s, a dividend from the state's oil revenue.
而最低保障收入项目的最佳典范则为美国。自20世纪80年代开始，阿拉斯加州就开始为本州所有居民发放年度现金补助，而这笔费用来源于该州的石油收入。
BIEN, a group that campaigns for universal income, describes it as the first "genuine universal basic income system."
为“通用最低收入”做宣传的BIEN组织评价芬兰这一项目为首个“真正的通用最低收入系统”。