Oregon State is One Step Closer to Giving Every Citizen a $750 Yearly Basic Income With No Strings Attached
Soon, Oregon voters will decide if the Beaver State will be the first in the country to start a national basic income program. This would give people cash by taxing businesses.
The Oregonian reports that supporters of Initiative Petition 17 say they have thousands more signatures than they need to get the guaranteed income plan on Oregon’s ballot this fall. It needs to be approved by the Secretary of State’s office before the bill can be added to the November ballot. The proposal would then be approved or rejected by the voters.
As more US cities and counties try out basic income schemes, Oregon’s plan comes at the same time. The programs usually involve giving a regular cash payment to everyone in a certain group. People who are in the program get the money no matter what job they have. The people who get the money can also spend it however they want.
The Oregonian says that Oregon’s planned UBI program would be the first of its kind and give every resident of the state about $750 a year. A 3% tax on companies’ sales above $25 million would be put in place to pay for the program. The money from this tax would be given equally to residents of all ages.
The plan draft says that the Oregon State Department of Revenue would be in charge of giving out the money. Residents would be able to choose between getting their money in the form of cash or a refundable tax credit. The company tax money that is left over would be used to help the elderly, the healthcare system, and schools.
The Oregonian noted that some business leaders are worried about the support for the plan. Business groups are getting ready to fight the measure and are planning a campaign to do so. They say the idea would hurt the state’s economy and want to fight it.
More than 100 trial programs for basic income have been held in the US in the past few years, and the results show that the idea works very well.
Even though there isn’t a lot of information available yet, more and more places are testing their own basic income programs. For example, North Carolina has given money to people who used to be in prison, and Oregon has already given money to homeless teens.
People who take part in these programs usually live below the government poverty line. However, some pilot programs have focused on certain groups, such as families with children or people who have been in prison.
It was previously reported by Business Insider that many people who get basic income checks use the money to pay for things like food, housing, and transportation.
Basic income programs are becoming more popular, but politicians and business leaders are becoming more against the idea. Conservative politicians have called guaranteed basic income a “socialist” strategy and said that the programs could make low-income people less likely to work.
Source: Business Insider