More Americans than ever before now think they should be given money just for being alive. Many politicians have floated around the idea, and even initiated pilot projects, of implementing a universal basic income. With more support, our esteemed representatives will likely spring into action, demanding that it is everyone’s right to get something for nothing!
According to a new poll conducted by Gallup and Northeastern University, 48 percent of Americans say the federal government should institute a basic income guarantee. This is up from just 12 percent a decade ago.
Here are some of the poll results:
- 46 percent of respondents would pay personal higher taxes to fund the program.
- 80 percent of participants say corporations should pay higher taxes to pay for the basic income.
- Republicans and Independents are more likely to oppose the initiative (72 percent and 52 percent, respectively) than Democrats (35 percent).
The survey examined universal basic income as a method of alleviating the situation for Americans who have lost their employment because of automation.
From Gallup:
Estimates indicate that as many as 47% of all U.S. jobs are at risk of replacement by AI, and most Americans agree that the adoption of this new technology will create fewer jobs than it makes obsolete. Additionally, half of American workers (51%) say they would need additional education or training to find an equivalent job if they lost their current position to new technology, though fewer — 43% — are confident they could secure this education. This potentially sets up a situation in which adopting AI will result in significant unemployment and disruption.
Americans are mixed on their support for the idea of a universal basic income program, which has been advanced by some high-profile proponents, including Elon Musk, to help ease the pain of the AI revolution. Americans’ mixed levels of support for a UBI program for those who lose their jobs to AI may be related to the finding that most don’t personally fear losing their jobs to the new technology.
Karl Widerquist, an associate professor at Georgetown University in Qatar and an advocate for a universal basic income, told CNBC that the results are “really promising.”
What is interesting about the basic income initiative is that it has evolved from a program to replace the entire welfare system to just another entitlement to complement the current welfare state.
Here is what the business news network wrote:
“Proposals for universal basic income programs vary, but the most common one is a system in which the federal government sends out regular checks to everyone, regardless of their earnings or employment.”
Oy vey.
Jurisdictions across the United States and the rest of the world are experimenting with basic incomes. It was reported earlier this month that the California city of Stockton is handing out free money to a significant portion of fat residents (SEE: Bankrupt Stockton to offer poor, obese families free money for a year). Finland is in the middle of its experiment, while the province of Ontario is testing it out in certain cities.
They already have their conclusion – they have had it since the beginning: it’s a success!
Proponents of the program say that people wouldn’t quit their jobs and just become sloth-like creatures. But if you read the interviews that Swiss supporters say, it seems like that would be the case moving forward (SEE: Swiss voters overwhelmingly reject basic income guarantee (again)).
Some libertarians have endorsed the idea, on the condition that the entire welfare state is abolished. It looks like this won’t happen.
The welfare state is only going to get bigger.
Imagine a system where low wealth families get a low income tax rate. It is a bit like supplementing a basic income but only for families that need it. It is formally called the inverse taxation of wealth and income and it avoids the waste of giving money to families that don’t need it.