Would a universal basic income help to alleviate poverty in Chicago?
Some residents may be about to find out. A new proposal unveiled by a mayoral task force late last week would provide 1,000 struggling Chicagoans with $1,000 per month — no strings attached.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the pilot program, which would cost up to $12 million per year and be funded by the city and philanthropic contributions, was recommended as a way to help individuals and families, along with senior citizens, who have a hard time making ends meet.
“Guaranteed income can have powerful effects: significant reductions in poverty; ability to cover an unexpected emergency; improve school attendance; an increase in savings and improvements to health and well-being,” the report states, according to the Sun-Times. “These are goals that every Chicagoan can get behind.”
Universal basic income has been touted by tech executives like Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a way to deal with the potentially massive job losses resulting from automation and AI in the coming decades. A number of Democrats, including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and several 2020 candidates, have also voiced support for a universal basic income of some type. – READ MORE