By Jonas Walzberg, Welt
Referendum on Basic Income in Hamburg Fails
The referendum for a basic income pilot project has failed.
The experiment “Hamburg Tests Basic Income” will not go forward — the citizens’ vote was clear.
The project “Hamburg Tests Basic Income” failed after 62.6 percent of voters rejected the proposal in Sunday’s referendum, while 37.4 percent voted in favor, according to preliminary results from the state election office. Voter turnout was 43.7 percent.
The initiative conceded defeat that same evening, stating, “We have lost the referendum.” However, it also emphasized that much had been gained: “We have shown that basic income is not a fringe topic but a serious proposal for a fairer society.” One in three voters supported it.
This was already the initiative’s second attempt to launch such a pilot program. In early 2020, the organizers had gathered the required 10,000 valid signatures. However, a subsequent referendum was halted in the summer of 2023 by Hamburg’s Constitutional Court at the request of the city’s center-left (SPD–Green) government. The organizers then revised their draft law and relaunched the initiative.
Plan: 2,000 People to Receive Monthly Payments
The initiative proposed that 2,000 randomly selected Hamburg residents receive a monthly basic income from the city for three years. In 2025, that would have amounted to €1,346 per month plus health insurance. Other income would have been deducted. If the trial had begun in 2027, the initiative estimated the city’s cost at around €50 million.
In addition to the financial support, the organizers wanted to conduct a scientific study to determine whether a basic income could function effectively. Before the vote, Thomas Straubhaar, emeritus professor of economics and founding director of the Hamburg Institute of International Economics, expressed confidence that the experiment could “help us learn how a basic income must be structured to meet the expectations—also of future generations—of a fair, affordable, and strong welfare state.”
Significant Political and Economic Criticism
However, the proposal faced strong opposition. Except for the Left Party, all factions in Hamburg’s state parliament opposed the plan. The SPD and Greens considered it too expensive and argued it provided no new scientific insight, as similar pilots had already been conducted elsewhere. They also pointed out that it wasn’t truly “unconditional,” since other income would be counted against it. The CDU called it “a costly, immature project that raises more questions than it answers.”
Even the labor-oriented Hans Böckler Foundation advised against a tax-funded basic income. Its researchers warned it could act as a “Trojan horse,” with costs used as justification to eliminate other social transfers, including pensions. They also argued that it would distort the wage structure by freeing employers from the responsibility of paying living wages, resulting in what they described as a “super-subsidized wage” — high public contribution, low employer share. Instead, they suggested expanding targeted support for education, families, and entrepreneurship.
Referendum Timing Shifted by Federal Election Changes
The organizers originally planned to hold the referendum alongside Germany’s federal election, which was initially scheduled for September. However, the early collapse of the federal “traffic light” coalition in Berlin moved the national election up to February, disrupting the initiative’s timing.
This post was originally published on Basic Income Today.