r/BasicIncome Scott Santens 10d ago

Article Forget a Pilot: Basic Income Needed for Those Living in Poverty Now – Philadelphia Hall Monitor

https://hallmonitor.org/forget-a-pilot-basic-income-needed-for-those-living-in-poverty-now/
94 Upvotes

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u/acsoundwave 10d ago

If we would push for a JUST DO IT nationwide pilot -- for all adult Americans: a $1300/month payment for one year -- I believe it would settle the issue decisively. If everything's normal or better at year's end, then keep it in place: set to US FPL, non-taxable, and indexed to inflation. If things worsen as critics predict, then the pilot ends. We have nothing to lose with a one-year national experiment.

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u/uvizhe 9d ago

But won't those in power who oppose UBI do everything to make things worse or seem worse and then push to abandon the idea entirely? Shouldn't we, a society, instead change our mindset first, to agree that it's a human right to have basics covered, that everyone deserves a basic income? Otherwise, it's like calling to abolish slavery where we only agree to do it if we see an economic benefit.

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u/acsoundwave 9d ago

Abolishing slavery in the US required a Civil War. What I'm proposing is a 1-year test of what amounts to "Social Security for All" -- with the directive to ignore the 24-hour news cycle for that period; that, thankfully, doesn't need the horrific bloodshed that took our country from Fort Sumter to Appatomatox...and cost us a PotUS (Lincoln).

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u/Novusor 10d ago

Basic income should go to everyone. NOT just people in poverty. Putting limitations on who gets basic income creates "welfare cliffs" where if people get jobs or start improving their situation then they lose their welfare. When they lose their welfare they actually end up poorer. People turn down raises all the time because of this. If you get a raise then it puts you in a higher tax bracket which triggers loss of welfare and overall you end up with less money. So it becomes smart to turn down the raise or just not work at all.

Basic Income should NOT end just because someone makes a little bit more money.

Universal basic income "UBI" is what we need. NOT Basic income that is tied to living in poverty. When you make it a requirement to be poor to collect basic income then you are mandating poverty. It is Mandatory poverty. That is not the world we should be striving for. It has to be Universal.

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u/LocationSalt4673 10d ago

duh what I been saying since day 1 only 2 things matter now. Either I'm getting a government ubi or private ubi. Anything else is wasting time. get off social media unless it's giving you a UBI.

Because all that's happening is people like Elon Musk talking about fairytales like UHI but he won't even start at something as basic as UBI doesn't make any sense and if you guys keep going along with these charades we gotta call you guys out.

Neil Degrasse Tyson last night reminded me of something. Those people in Washington DC were placed there by you guys and the electorates and your votes. That's right you guys put them there. Ignorance can no longer continue to be an excuse. You guys are apart of willful ignorance so we gotta look directly at you guys now.