Free Republic

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill that would create a state-based guaranteed income program. State Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) sponsors Senate Bill 3462, which calls on Illinois to adopt such a program after the 2027 calendar year. Through this legislation, residents who meet certain qualifications would be eligible for monthly $1,000 cash payments, regardless of immigration status. It’s unclear how long the payments would last. According to the bill’s language, those potentially eligible for $1,000 cash payments include people who: Provide care for a child or other specified dependent Recently gave birth or adopted a child Enroll...

More than 140 people experiencing homelessness in Denver will each be provided up to $1,000 in cash a month for up to one year as part of a basic income program designed to help "lift individuals out of homelessness," the city announced last week. The $2 million contract with the Denver Basic Income Project was approved by the City Council and will provide direct cash assistance to more than 140 women, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, and families in shelters. "Just as important as housing and shelter is a regular source of income for those experiencing homelessness," Mayor Michael B....

I have often wondered how to determine when the United States of America is approaching a catastrophic financial crisis, similar to the stock market crash of 1929. President Biden will never provide us with that information because it would further expose him as a dysfunctional, incompetent, nowhere man sitting in his nowhere fake office land. Biden, as the captain of the Titanic, would yell, "Full speed ahead. Maybe we'll get lucky and hit a mine!" You get the point. The Biden administration, better known as dysfunction junction, still blames Trump for their disastrous tenure in office: "Hey, look over there...

Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf is pushing state legislators to pass a bill that would send checks up to $2,000 to households with income under $80,000.

In December, while the world’s attention was on the emergence of the omicron coronavirus variant, the German Institute for Economic Research revived a centuries-old idea to help tackle wealth inequality. Universal Basic Inheritance, or Grunderbe in German, would assign €20,000 ($22,720) to each resident upon reaching 18 years of age. The sum would be earmarked to pay for education or training, a property downpayment or for starting a business — not to be squandered. The idea is in a similar vein to the Universal Basic Income, a welfare replacement scheme being trialed by governments around the world, which awards people...

Welfare is often sold as a means to help people lift themselves out of poverty, but every piece of data ever accumulated on the topic reveals the opposite is true. With few exceptions, welfare becomes a generational problem as families who become dependents of government remain dependents of government. There are ways to properly assist those in need without locking them into the welfare state. Jobs programs, education programs, and temporary relief funds can help people get a leg up from their circumstances, but Democrats know these types of programs do not accomplish the singular goal of the welfare state:...

..the government of President Emmanuel Macron announced an "inflation allowance" that will send at least 100 euros (116 US dollars) to 48 million people in France. The move comes with less than six months until voters go to the polls next year in the presidential election. For those in France who's income is below 2000 euros a month the payout will be even greater perhaps as much as 200 to 300 euros. Also this week legislative action to allow school principals in France to have knowledge of the vaccination status of school students. It was a matter that caused a...

(NEXSTAR) – As the U.S. confronts rising inflation, slower job gains and a crippled supply chain, a new study finds that the Americans most in need of a stimulus check at the beginning of the pandemic continue to suffer most. The three rounds of stimulus checks spanning two presidencies were critical to lower earners, researchers with the Capital One Insights Center found, but didn’t go far enough. The study started in spring of 2020, with the authors administering surveys to a nationally representative group of Americans every four to eight months to learn more about the virus’ impact, from how...

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...

Used car prices in the US continue to surge due to both the country’s economic recovery and an ongoing supply crunch. There are two components to watch in the core inflation report due next week. First is, and most importantly, are used car prices and second is the rent of shelter. Core inflation in April saw a more significant contribution to used car prices pushing inflation upwards of 2% YoY mainly because prices of used vehicles on the month jumped 21% YoY. For those who haven’t seen what is going on in the used car space, here is a chart...

Imagine getting up one morning and finding helicopters hovering over the neighborhood. They are showering down cash on the community. All one has to do is go and pick up an allotted amount. Such a prospect might seem too good to be true. However, in these chaotic times, it might become the new normal.The concept is called helicopter money. Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman coined the term in 1969 to envisage how sudden increases in money supply universally distributed would affect spending and saving. His conclusions were not favorable. No one took it seriously at the time. Everyone agreed that...

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1 New on @MSNBC : House Democrats will attempt to pass a stand-alone bill to provide for $2000 direct payments by unanimous consent on Thursday, NBC News reports, citing a senior Democratic aide.

Pope Francis Touts Universal Basic IncomeCatholic economist slams idea as 'radical innovation in Church teaching' VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - Pope Francis is calling for a universal basic income (UBI) — a proposal denounced by a top Catholic economist as "a radical innovation in Catholic teaching without any obvious roots." In an extended interview barely mentioning persecuted Uighurs, Rohingya and Yazidi peoples, the pontiff attacks populist leaders and coronavirus lockdown demonstrators while voicing his support for George Floyd Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests.Francis' controversial reflections, published in a new book Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future, records exchanges...

A growing number of mayors across the country support giving cash to low-income families with no restrictions on how they can spend it — part of a growing movement to establish a guaranteed minimum income to combat poverty and systemic racism. Mayors in at least 25 cities — from Los Angeles to Paterson, New Jersey — have pledged to support such programs as part of the group Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. They are led by Michael Tubbs, the 30-year-old mayor of Stockton, California, who launched one of the country's first guaranteed income programs last year with the help of...

A group of people are to receive €1,200 “universal basic income” per month for three years in a new German study. Germany is launching a new trial to find out how universal basic income affects the attitude and lives of those who receive it. As part of the Pilotprojekt Grundeinkommen (Basic Income Pilot Project) study, 120 people will receive €1,200 each month for three years. Researchers will compare their experiences with another group of 1,380 people who will not receive the cash. […] The aim is to gain a scientific understanding on how people’s behavior and attitudes change when they...

No excerpt from Bloomberg, story here.

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Three Democratic senators have proposed a bill that would pay most Americans each month until the coronavirus’ economic impact subsides.</p> <p>The Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act was drafted by Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and would provide a monthly $2,000 check to people who make less than $120,000.</p>

In a piece at Market Watch, House Appropriations Committee member Tim Ryan (D-OH) writes about his plan to “fire up the economy” by introducing “the Emergency Money for the People Act, which will provide almost every American $2,000 a month until employment levels reach pre-coronavirus levels. Every American age 16 and older who earns less $130,000 per year will receive this money tax-free.” [sic] Married couples, he writes, “can earn up to $260,000 per year and receive $4,000 per month,” along with an additional $500 a month for up to three children, capped at a whopping $5,500 per month for...

“We should never forget fiscal responsibility, even in a crisis. My amendment seeks to offset the new spending by making numerous cuts in less important areas.” WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on the U.S. Senate floor, U.S. Senator and physician Rand Paul (R-KY) spoke on his amendment to the U.S. House-passed coronavirus response bill to offset the new funding, prioritizing spending in this emergency rather than funding endless wars or paying for frivolous programs overseas. In his speech, Dr. Paul noted that “next time, maybe in the not-too-distant future, our children may not even be able to borrow their way out...

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is floating a plan to “get cash into the hands of affected workers and their families” due to national shutdowns of businesses in nearly every industry from the coronavirus outbreak. In a series of posts online and in a Fox News Channel interview, Cotton said American workers who are being forced to stay home from their jobs due to shutdowns in the midst of the coronavirus crisis need immediate relief in the form of cash payments. The monetary policy, known as Universal Basic Income (UBI), has made its way into the national spotlight over the last...