Category: Basic Income

How well can universal basic income work? N.Y. pilot program’s one of several nationally trying it out.

How well can universal basic income work? N.Y. pilot program’s one of several nationally trying it out.

A man walks across the street in Ellenville, N.Y., Wednesday, June 16, 2021. Less than 100 miles north of New York City, Ulster County is popular destination for weekenders headed to Woodstock or the Catskill Mountains. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) AP Annette Steele isn’t destitute or unemployed. But for a year she’ll be receiving $500 per month in no-strings-attached payments as part of an experimental universal basic income program in upstate New York.

Places from Compton, California, to Richmond, Virginia, are trying out guaranteed income programs, which gained more attention after the pandemic idled millions of workers.

Steele, a special education school […]

A deeper dive into Yang’s income plan

A deeper dive into Yang’s income plan

New York, NY – May 26, 2021 – Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang is pictured during a press conference at the Washington Market Park on Greenwich Street and Chambers Street. Andrew Yang’s two political campaigns have centered around an unconventional policy idea: just give people money. He ran for president on a policy to give $1,000 per month to every adult citizen, which he dubbed the “Freedom Dividend.” Now he’s running for mayor on what he calls “A basic income for New York City.”

As an economic policy researcher who focuses on universal basic income (UBI), I’ve studied both of […]

‘It lessens my bills’: $500 payments tested in upstate NY

‘It lessens my bills’: $500 payments tested in upstate NY

Annette Steele isn’t destitute or unemployed. But for a year she’ll be receiving $500 per month in no-strings-attached payments as part of an experimental universal basic income program in upstate New York.

Places from Compton, California, to Richmond, Virginia, are trying out guaranteed income programs, which gained more attention after the pandemic idled millions of workers.

Steele, a special education school aide, is getting her payments through a program in Ulster County, which covers parts of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River Valley.During the pilot program, funded by private donations, 100 county residents making less than $46,900 annually will get […]

Presidential candidates support basic income and argue about it

Presidential candidates support basic income and argue about it

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, left, and Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung. [YONHAP] Universal basic income has emerged as a major issue ahead of the presidential election, which is now just nine months away.

The idea entered the Korean political conversation when Democratic Party (DP) frontrunner Lee Jae-myung, who is currently serving as Gyeonggi governor, suggested a government-funded universal basic income.

Other DP presidential candidates are against the idea. Lee Nak-yon and Chung Sye-kyun, who both served as prime minister under the current administration, oppose a universal income.People Power Party’s Yoo Seong-min, also running for president, rails against Governor Lee’s idea, saying basic […]

[Book review] What we need now is socialism, Piketty writes

[Book review] What we need now is socialism, Piketty writes

Piketty refers to a new kind of socialism whose ideology is participatory and decentralized, democratic and friendly to the environment, and respectful of women In his book “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” French economist Thomas Piketty drew upon data from twenty countries around the world over three centuries to expose the roots of inequality, which is the fundamental contradiction of capitalism. Now Piketty offers readers a subversive prospect of socialism. “If someone had told me back in 1990 that I’d publish a book titled “The Urgency of Socialism” in 2020, I’d have said they were speaking nonsense.” He delineates […]

Scoppe: Columbia hosts an experiment in unchecked spending of unearned money. Two actually.

Scoppe: Columbia hosts an experiment in unchecked spending of unearned money. Two actually.

Gov. Henry McMaster greets Explore Charleston CEO Helen Hill before Tuesday’s meeting of the AccelerateSC task force he assembled to recommend how the Legislature should spend $2.6 billion of the $8.9 billion in federal COVID relief funding on its way to S.C. state and local governments. The city of Columbia launched a fascinating experiment on Wednesday aimed at winning mainstream acceptance for the fringe idea — which became a little less fringy last year when the federal government started sending out checks to everybody, whether we needed them or not, and paying extended unemployment benefits with few questions asked […]

The role of UBI in the fight against climate change

The role of UBI in the fight against climate change

Essay by Miranda Reid

A universal basic income has been proven through numerous studies and trials to be incredibly beneficial to the well-being of both communities and individuals. Mental health improvements, food security, and protection for those faced with technological unemployment are some of the impacts most frequently mentioned. However, this idea could also prove to be a driving force for solutions to environmental concerns. Many of the benefits of implementing a universal income could lead to it becoming a key player in the fight against climate change.

One of the biggest hurdles faced when creating solutions to climate change, is […]

Can American cities advocate a universal basic income?

Can American cities advocate a universal basic income?

A Stockton City employee leaves Stockton, California City Hall. Stockton, a town in Northern California, gave several dozen families $ 500 a month for a year as part of a program to study the economic and social effects of a basic income for people. (AP Photo / Ben Margot, File)

Six years ago, the idea of ​​a city to give its citizens unconditional and unconditional money was unthinkable. The concept may have been popular with some anti-poverty activists and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who believed in some kind of extra income from the government, but few leaders made it a workable […]

Can American Cities Make the Case for a Universal Basic Income?

Can American Cities Make the Case for a Universal Basic Income?

A Stockton city worker walks away from city hall in Stockton, Calif. Stockton, a Northern California city, gave several dozen families $500 a month for a year as part of a program to study the economic and social impacts of giving people a basic income. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File) Denial of responsibility!
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Just six years ago, the idea of a city unconditionally giving its people money, with no strings attached, was unthinkable. The concept might have been popular among some anti-poverty activists and Silicon Valley […]

American workers are refusing to take bad jobs — and that’s good for everyone, economists say

American workers are refusing to take bad jobs — and that's good for everyone, economists say

One of the first things President Joe Biden did after taking office was issue an executive order that defined when someone could decline a job opportunity and still continue to receive unemployment benefits. As his predecessor, Donald Trump, had not established a federal standard as to when states should protect citizens who refuse to work in unsafe conditions, Biden moved to fill the void.

The move was timely. After all, news reports are full stories of workers hesitant to move back to jobs that pay them less than what they earned from COVID-19 relief benefits ; some are hesitant to […]