Roosevelt Institute fellow Mike Konczal has written an article about basic income for The Nation, a widely-read American progressive journal.
In the article, Konczal proposal several initial steps that might move the United States closer to a universal basic income. Specifically, he recommends that the country start with three policies: a child allowance (he suggests $2500 per year per child), a higher minimum wage (of at least $12/hour), and mandatory guaranteed paid leave (12 weeks medical leave and 2 weeks annual leave).
Interestingly, although Konczal states that what is needed is a policy “that benefits Americans while destigmatizing the concept of giving people no-strings-attached cash”, he does not actually discuss any policies that would result in “no-strings-attached cash” being giving to all Americans — such as a dividend funded by a carbon tax or land-value tax.(It might be noted that some American organizations, such as the National Campaign for Basic Income, are presently looking at social dividend approaches as part of a basic income “starter kit” — in addition to considering such proposals as children’s allowance.)
Read Konczal’s article — and watch a short animated video based on it — here:
Mike Konczal, “These Policies Could Move America Toward a Universal Basic Income“, The Nation; August 1, 2016.
The Nation, “What if we just gave people enough money to get out of poverty?” YouTube; August 9, 2016.
Photo CC BY 2.0, New America
