Fresh basic income pilot results, this time from Arlington, Virginia where 200 people got $500 a month for 2 years. The findings:
Employment INCREASED by 16%, and their incomes from paid work INCREASED by 37%. The control group saw no such gains.
https://www.arlnow.com/2024/02/06/report-arlingtons-first-guaranteed-income-pilot-boosted-quality-of-life-for-poorest-residents/
Employment INCREASED by 16%, and their incomes from paid work INCREASED by 37%. The control group saw no such gains.
https://www.arlnow.com/2024/02/06/report-arlingtons-first-guaranteed-income-pilot-boosted-quality-of-life-for-poorest-residents/
Comments
ARLCF doesn't provide the report itself on that page. UBI is really interesting, but data has been hard to come by. Makes creating good policy difficult.
Important to note that while evaluations are typically conducted by independent 3rd parties, they aren't usually subject to peer review, so the rigor isn't necessarily equivalent to a research study
How would it affect taxes, other spending? Would it be universal or means tested? If means tested, how would that play?
I think we should, eventually will, do this, but it's a bit disingenuous to act as of it's a no brainer, held back only by cruelty
300M people x $6,000 yr (as in the study) = $1.8 trillion
US GDP is $23 trillion
US federal budget is $6.1 trillion
So, 8% of GDP, 30% of federal budget.
Not saying it's not a good or appropriate use of money - but introducing it would be a huge shock to the system. Hard to predict the effects of that
It's one thing to have a good policy goal, getting there is something else.
I think it can be done, but not without a groundswell of popular support. The poor have very bad lobbyists.
Honest question for you: Would it be feasible at the state level, w/o federal income taxes?
It makes sense that it works for those living in poverty. Transitioning to a program en masse means the challenge of political consensus.
Involving small businesses could help build consensus.
How would UBI increase inflation if it only affects the distribution of money and not the overall monetary supply?
Its not UBI, its a basic income guarantee of just $500/month.
If you really feel the need to push others down for fear that their $500 makes things slightly worse for yourself, there is something wholly wrong with your thinking.
22% taking on extra training should be the headline.
It's so out of the pale that I can't find any economic sources that even discuss it.
People don’t even want to shelter homeless people.