Residents of more than 20 areas in US are receiving $500 a month universal basic income payments as popularity of Andrew Yang's proposal grows

Daily Mail uK ^ | 20 Jun 2021 | Gina Martinez

[blueplum]

Residents in cities across the country are receiving $500 per month payments as part of a no-strings-attached experimental universal basic income program....

...places from Compton, California, to Richmond, Virginia, are trying out pilot guaranteed income programs as researchers hope the results give them a fuller picture of what happens when a range of people are sent payments that guarantee a basic living, AP reported. ...

...Center for Guaranteed Income Research co-founder Stacia West, who is evaluating more than 20 similar pilot programs, is interested in seeing how spending compares to cities like Stockton, California, where more than a third went for food.

...The program would likely be funded by an increase in income taxes across all income levels.

To pay every adult and child in the United States a yearly income of £8,045 ($10,000) per year, the government would likely have to cut most non-health social spending programs and raise the share of GDP collected in tax by ten per cent....

...Another suggestion is a negative interest rate, that would take a percentage of every citizen's bank account each month.

A universal basic income in the United Kingdom that would give every adult and child £12,000 ($14,900) per year requires a negative interest rate of 2.5 percent per month, according to the Centre for Welfare Reform.

So, if a person were to have £5,000 ($6,600) in his or her bank account at the beginning of the month, by the end, £4,884 ($6,500) would be left because £116 ($153) would be taken by the government for a universal basic income pot....

[Svartalfiar]

...Another suggestion is a negative interest rate, that would take a percentage of every citizen's bank account each month.

At -2.5% per month, why would any citizen keep their money in bank? It'll be stuffed in mattresses everywhere!

[Pining_4_TX]

Absolutely. There was some woke school teacher who had kids sit in large cardboard boxes in a park to “teach” them about homelessness. Almost immediately, some of the boys got creative and started improving their box houses. It’s called initiative and a desire to improve one’s circumstances.