Universal Basic Income

[lpetrich]

Or "Welfare for All".

The idea is not a new one, and it has gone under names like "negative income tax".

Andrew Yang made a Universal Basic Income a centerpiece of his Presidential campaign. The Freedom Dividend, Defined - Yang2020 - Andrew Yang for President - "Andrew Yang is running for president as a Democrat in 2020 to implement a guaranteed income. This form of basic income that he is proposing for the United States is a set of guaranteed payments of $1,000 per month, or $12,000 per year, to all U.S. citizens over the age of 18. Yes, that means you and everyone you know would get $1,000/month every month from the U.S. government, no questions asked."

Rashida Tlaib basic income: her new bill for guaranteed cash payments, explained - Vox

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is still in her first six months in office, but she has already unveiled one of the most fascinating bills of the 116th Congress: a $3,000-per-adult basic income.

Known as the LIFT+ Act, Tlaib’s proposal is almost identical to the LIFT Act introduced last year by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA). Harris proposed creating a new credit (worth $3,000 for singles and $6,000 for married couples) for the working poor to supplement the earned income tax credit.

Harris’s credit phases out starting at $30,000 for singles without kids and at $60,000 for married couples and singles with kids. For low earners, it phases in dollar for dollar: If you earn $0, you get $0 in benefit. If you make $1,000 a year, you get an additional $1,000 from the LIFT Act. If you make $2,000, you get another $2,000, and so on, until you hit the $3,000/$6,000 maximum for singles and marrieds, respectively.

Tlaib’s plan is the same as the Harris plan with one extremely important exception: no phase-in. Under Harris’s plan, if you earn $0, you get $0. Under Tlaib’s plan, if you earn $0, you get $3,000 per person. No exceptions.

S.3712 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): LIFT (Livable Incomes for Families Today) the Middle Class Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - Kamala Harris's bill

H.R.3590 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Building Our Opportunities to Survive and Thrive Act of 2019 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - Rashida Tlaib's bill - the BOOST Act

 

[lpetrich]

Kamala Harris's bill got no cosponsors, but Rashida Tlaib's bill did:
Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-12]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Garcia, Jesus G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Hastings, Alcee L. [D-FL-20]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Lee, Barbara [D-CA-13]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]* 06/27/2019
Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8] 09/18/2019


Coronavirus: Mitt Romney Calls For $1,000 Basic Income For Americans During Outbreak

Tulsi Gabbard and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Back Universal Basic Income in Response to Coronavirus

Gabbard introduced legislation Friday that would provide a UBI payment of $1,000 per month to every American adult until the Department of Health and Human Services declares the outbreak is over.

"The coronavirus pandemic has created a threat to the health and well-being of the American people, as well as to our country's economic stability. While some in Washington are focused on taking care of Wall Street, everyday Americans get left behind. That's wrong," said Gabbard in a statement.

...
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) proposed separate legislation Friday that would use an earned income tax credit to provide an emergency payment of between $1,000 and $6,000 to anyone who earned less than $65,000 last year.

"We must soften the blow for workers as large gatherings and events are canceled and hours are cut. A payroll tax cut is not sufficient," said Khanna in a statement. "This plan is about providing real, urgently needed relief to middle and working-class families."

RELEASE: Reps. Ryan, Khanna Propose Cash Infusion between $1,000-$6,000 to Help Working Class Americans during COVID-19 Crisis | Congressman Ro Khanna
Congressmen Tim Ryan & Ro Khanna Propose Cash Infusion for Working Americans during COVID-19 Crisis | Congressman Tim Ryan
(nothing in congress.gov)

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Introduces Resolution Calling for Emergency Universal Basic Payment as Direct Coronavirus Pandemic Relief | Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard
H.Res.897 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be a direct emergency economic stimulus for individual Americans in response to COVID-19. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

 

[lpetrich]

Coronavirus: Andrew Yang's Universal Basic Income Is On the Rise - Rolling Stone - has an interview with him

If you were president right now, how would you design a coronavirus-specific basic income relief plan?

I would do a flat $1,000 per individual adult and then $500 per child under 18 and do it for three months.

...
What have you heard from people affected by this pandemic?

People from every ideological background have come out and said it has to be cash. I’m thrilled that everyone has drawn the correct conclusion, because they’re right.

...
When was the last time both AOC and Mitt Romney were in unison on a major policy idea?

I think it’s a first. It’s a thrill that you have people at every point in the political spectrum coming together and trying to solve the problem in a rational apolitical way.

...
Are there existing models or test cases elsewhere right now for the type of universal basic income you’re calling for?

The Alaska petroleum dividend is one data point where it’s been wildly popular for decades. But one thing that is right here and close to home is that there are certain Indian tribes that have dispensed dividends from casino money to families for years, and you’ve consistently seen really significant improvement in health and education and mental health and domestic violence levels in those situations when you look at groups that have gotten the money and not gotten it. Right now ,we’re in a crisis and we need to do this, to put money into poor people’s hands. I’ve been championing this because it would help any community, crisis or not.

 

[lpetrich]

GOP Sen. Cotton calls for monthly cash payments to Americans during coronavirus pandemic | TheHill

"Let’s cut out employers as the middle men and get relief to people not in weeks but in days," Cotton wrote in a Medium post outlining his proposals for a Senate bill. "We should send relief directly to American families most likely to be in need — those in the bottom and middle tax brackets — to pay for rent, groceries, childcare, and other necessary expenses, as well as to spend at local businesses that are hurting during this crisis."

Tom Cotton on Twitter: "The House bill sets up a complicated relief system that relies on paid sick leave & refundable tax credits.
That won’t move quickly enough & puts undue pressure on businesses to lay off workers.
We don’t want to see layoffs—we need cash in the hands of affected families. https://t.co/64hNtYhfJO" / Twitter

Romney proposes giving $1K to every US adult amid coronavirus | TheHill

"Congress took similar action during the 2001 and 2008 recessions. While expansions of paid leave, unemployment insurance, and SNAP benefits are crucial, the check will help fill the gaps for Americans that may not quickly navigate different government options," Romney's office noted.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has expressed skepticism about some UBI proposals, but she thinks that the basic idea is worth considering.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "This is not the time for half measures. We need to take dramatic action now to stave off the worst public health & economic affects. That includes making moves on paid leave, debt relief, waiving work req’s, guaranteeing healthcare, UBI, detention relief(pretrial, elderly, imm)" / Twitter

Mehdi Hasan on Twitter: "Needs to be more like 10k per adult, 5k minimum. https://t.co/vya1m4XlTo" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Cash is important but if you do it w/o payment suspensions then it’s still everyday people footing the bill.
Corporations, lenders, and banks need to do their fair share.
UBI shouldn’t be used as an excuse for not pausing mortgage & student loan payments, halting interest, etc. https://t.co/aYvDMbXtYQ" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "People have harped on me about “Trojan horse” comments I’ve made before abt UBI policies,but seriously: not every UBI policy is created equal.
Some are structured in predatory ways to gut the safety net & reward banks, others are better w/people’s well-being in mind. Be careful." / Twitter
then
Michael Tubbs on Twitter: "@AOC " / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "@MichaelDTubbs I first starting learning about this from meeting w/ you! " / Twitter

AOC was referring to some comments that she made about some UBI schemes in a town-hall meeting late last year.

 

[lpetrich]

Jonathan Martin on Twitter: "NEW from @MittRomney:
“Every American adult should immediately receive $1,000 to help ensure families and workers can meet their short-term obligations and increase spending in the economy.”" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "GOP & Democrats are both coming to the same conclusion: Universal Basic Income is going to have to play a role in helping Americans weather this crisis.
@RoKhanna & @TimRyan’s proposal goes up to $6,000/mo depending on need. Mitt Romney just came out for a flat $1,000 universal. https://t.co/43d4AWK70u" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "These proposals should be handled with care and consideration, particularly with respect to macroeconomic effects.
But they should be considered nevertheless.
Other countries are getting by w/ payment suspensions, which also creates that cash buffer. https://t.co/2QPSNq5bR0" / Twitter
then
See Mia Wash Her Hands * on Twitter: "Yessssss
Proposals such as this don’t just live in a fishbowl. They affect many other policies. If you implement the UBI, you must look at how it affects Medicaid/Medicare/SSI/SSDI/Food stamps/Inflation/Rent/etc. #CripTheVote https://t.co/c7vrf8ivi3" / Twitter
That's the sort of thing that AOC was concerned about - how other stuff would be affected by a UBI.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Yes. Full transparency: My issues w/ non-emergency UBI have to do w/ domino effects that have not been sufficiently addressed: triggering mass disqualification thresholds on Medicaid, SNAP, & many other programs, inflationary concerns, etc.
I’m open to it but we need to bake it. https://t.co/SuILfjrtz8" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "A Federal Jobs Guarantee is a complementary program that addresses some people’s immediate problem (lack of work) without pumping cash w/o productivity into the economy.
Jobs Guarantee does not solve the issue for everyone but it should also be considered in the policy mix." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "BE CAREFUL with UBI proposals you see popping up.
They are not all created equal, & they can have large macroeconomic, inflationary & systemic effects.
Proposals should be weighed in a larger policy mix incl paymnt suspensions, jobs guarantee, unemp. expansion, paid leave,etc." / Twitter
She's rather skeptical about UBI. Like what she talked about in this video of a town hall: AOC talks UBI - YouTube - she thinks that some proposals are a Trojan horse for dismantling safety-net stuff.

YangTulsi2024 on Twitter: "@AOC BE CAREFUL trusting someone like @AOC on the subject of UBI. She may not be the right voice to listen to! https://t.co/XiwyTbFCxJ" / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "What we should seriously start to consider now for the medium & long term (bc it will take time) is New Deal-style policy.
We need a mix of policies to help put a lot of people to work. Climate transition, edu expansion w/ apprenticeships & colleges, M4A.
These are jobs bills." / Twitter
Right-wingers may look at stuff like this and think that AOC must be thinking "Never let a crisis go to waste."

Michael Tubbs on Twitter: "I’ve learned that particularly in times of crisis and economic downtown, folks need and deserve an income floor- and we can do it. It’s not a cure all but an important tool and am thankful you and other leaders are calling for it! #moneytothepeople @stocktondemo https://t.co/JFj76aagSv" / Twitter
then
Ilhan Omar on Twitter: "@MichaelDTubbs @stocktondemo Thank you Mayor for mainstreaming UBI, hope we can carry the ball forward in this critical time for our nation." / Twitter
and
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Michael Tubbs is the mayor of Stockton, CA who started a UBI pilot in his city long before the idea went mainstream.
They have been sending $500 debit cards to people in Stockton making <$46k.
It’s a limited, but real-life implementation and they have learned a lot. Google him! https://t.co/pddg6jAUCV" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Stockton's Universal Basic Income Pilot So Far - CityLab The article starts off with the financial hardships of someone in that California town, continuing with her:

... one of 125 Stockton, California, residents who have been receiving an unconditional $500-a-month payment since February, as part of the first mayor-led guaranteed income initiative piloted in the United States. Called Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED), it’s the passion project of Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, and funded by the Economic Security Project, a nonprofit that sponsors other guaranteed income experiments. Eight months into the 18-month project, researchers have released preliminary data about who’s participating, what they’re spending the money on, and how raising the income floor can change the entire structure of a life.

Those 125 Stockton residents were chosen to receive that money, and some other residents did not, as a control. "Detractors of guaranteed income say they’re concerned that free funds will discourage people from working—or encourage spending on what they’d consider the “wrong” things." So this experiment is to show what happens. How people spent that money: "Of the money tracked, 40 percent went towards food. Sales and merchandise made up another quarter of the monthly spending, and about 12 percent was spent on utilities." One participant spent it on getting a replacement car after an accident. She said about it: “They think that people that get that money don’t work. They use it on drugs and alcohol; to buy themselves nice clothes and stuff. It would be nice to get clothes, and buy stuff for myself. But I use that money for my family.”

 

[lpetrich]

Michael Tubbs on universal basic income: 'The issue with poverty is a lack of cash' | Opinion | The Guardian

I remember in college reading Where Do We Go From Here?, where Dr King talks about a very ambitious basic income pay that’s the national median income and keeping up with inflation. That’s just one part of his legacy, one part of his dream that I had never heard anyone mention. I thought that was fascinating.

Referring to Martin Luther King, Jr. A part of MLK's legacy that right-wingers don't want to talk about.

Benefit or burden? The cities trying out universal basic income | Cities | The Guardian

However, Jim Pugh, co-founder of the Universal Income Project, says many studies have shown that very few people receiving basic income drop out of the workforce.

“Some experiments have even found that basic income increases entrepreneurship, which would ultimately lead to more employment down the road,” says Pugh. “The truth is that most people want to contribute to society. If we can provide them with basic financial security, they’ll find a way to do it.”

Mayor Of Stockton, Calif., Discusses Universal Basic Income Program Results : NPR

One of the arguments that people have made against this idea for years is that people will blow it. They'll pay for - well, you can imagine what some of the critics have said. And what you're saying, that is not the case. The data should - let me just read some of the figures. They say 40% spent it on food, 24% on merchandise from Walmart and similar stores, 12% on utility bills, 9% on car repairs. So tell me some of the other things that you heard from people, some of the other anecdotes that you heard.

Mayor Michael Tubbs described how someone used the UBI to take time out from work to interview for another job.

As to how some people might spend UBI money,

But I also think that we're put on earth not just to work and not just to have the bare minimum but to enjoy.

So if someone wants to go take their kids to Disneyland, I don't see that as a bad purchase. If someone wants to go have a self-care day and get their nails done, I don't see that as a bad use. And I say that because if you look at, for example, the $2 trillion through the Trump tax cuts, I haven't seen any subpoenas or audits or questions about how that money is being spent.

 

[lpetrich]

Michael Tubbs dislikes 2020 candidate Andrew Yang’s UBI plan | The Sacramento Bee

“I support the conversation we’re having about basic income, but I don’t support any proposal that would gut the social safety net,” Tubbs said.

More specifically, Tubbs opposes Yang’s approach to giving every American $1,000 a month. Under Yang’s plan, food stamp recipients and others receiving need-based assistance from the federal government would be forced to choose between their existing benefits and the $1,000 monthly payment.

That's also AOC's concern about it.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

If it goes badly UBI will seriously paint us into a corner. Much better to go with guaranteed jobs.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

If it goes badly UBI will seriously paint us into a corner.

How?

Much better to go with guaranteed jobs.

Better for who? And what kind of jobs? UBI can always be funded, but guaranteeing a job is a far more complicated process that would necessarily entail massive bureaucratic and corporate infrastructure/logistics.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

If it goes badly UBI will seriously paint us into a corner.

How?

If you've been doing it for a while you will have a segment of the population who can't work--a big problem if something happens that they are needed to work.

Much better to go with guaranteed jobs.

Better for who? And what kind of jobs? UBI can always be funded, but guaranteeing a job is a far more complicated process that would necessarily entail massive bureaucratic and corporate infrastructure/logistics.

Why? I'm talking about the government directly hiring people to do useful things that aren't actually worth what it costs. There would be no issue of how many are needed--the only requirement to get hired would be being a citizen, you could only be fired for misconduct (which would include not making a reasonable effort to do the job.)

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

If you've been doing it for a while you will have a segment of the population who can't work

That is already the situation--and always has been without UBI--and therefore non-responsive to the question.

Much better to go with guaranteed jobs.

Better for who? And what kind of jobs? UBI can always be funded, but guaranteeing a job is a far more complicated process that would necessarily entail massive bureaucratic and corporate infrastructure/logistics.

Why?

Because that's what it would take as you indicate in your very next sentence:

I'm talking about the government directly hiring people to do useful things that aren't actually worth what it costs.

Which is a far more complicated process than UBI and would necessarily entail massive bureaucratic and corporate infrastructure/logistics.

There would be no issue of how many are needed--the only requirement to get hired would be being a citizen

And, you know, a job for them to perform.

you could only be fired for misconduct (which would include not making a reasonable effort to do the job.)

What kind of job are you imagining that is "useful" but not actually worth what it costs, where people will make reasonable efforts to complete and constitute "no issue of how many needed"?

 

[bigfield]

Why? I'm talking about the government directly hiring people to do useful things that aren't actually worth what it costs.

I know exactly what you mean, and that's a great idea: The government should make college free, and they should pay students an allowance to cover their living expenses and materials.

(including technical colleges)

There would be no issue of how many are needed--the only requirement to get hired would be being a citizen, you could only be fired for misconduct (which would include not making a reasonable effort to do the job.)

By "hired", of course we understand that you meant "admitted", by "fired" you meant "expelled", and by "reasonable effort to do the job" you must have meant "pass the course".

 

[Elixir]

If the fat orange obstacle can be removed from the path to prosperity, I foresee a huge opportunity for the next Administration to undertake a large scale infrastucture overhaul. It could create useful jobs for people at all levels of education and skill, and put millions back to work after the "depression". The improvements would set the country up for decades of future increases in the standard of living.

Of course some sacrifices would have to be made - perhaps we could settle for a military with the ability to destroy the world 100 times over instead of 1000 times over...