Swiss expected to overwhelmingly reject ‘free money’ plan

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – Swiss voters are expected to overwhelmingly reject a proposal that would have guaranteed everyone in the Alpine nation an unconditional basic income.

Projections by the gfs.bern polling group based on partial counts indicate that almost four out of five Swiss voted against the plan.

The referendum, which ended noon Sunday, was called after activists collected the necessary 100,000 signatures to force a vote on the issue.

Proponents argued that a basic income would free people from meaningless toil and allow them to pursue more productive or creative goals in life.

Critics said the plan would explode the state budget and encourage idleness.

If passed, experts said the minimum required to provide a basic living in this wealthy nation of 7 million people would be 2,500 Swiss francs ($2,560) per month.