What Would You Do If Your Income Were Taken Care Of? [View all]

Source: Medium, by Misha Chellam

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We share key takeaways below in hopes of advancing the conversation around this potentially important piece of policy. None of the arguments against, nor the overall numbers, come as much of a surprise for a bold idea still in its political infancy. The key lessons are the urgent necessity to raise awareness and promote the potential benefits of a universal basic income.

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A plurality of voters supported the core idea of providing every resident of the United States with a base income. Younger people, people of color, and less affluent people supported this more. Support was also highest among people who know the most about UBI.

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Here are the policy details that were shared:

• The check is not tied to work or having a job

• The amount of the monthly check would be between $500 and $2000

• The monthly income could be used for anything

• The cost of the monthly income would be paid for by tax revenues

• Every adult resident would receive a monthly check, similar to a Social Security check

Around 50 percent of respondents oppose these policy specifics, a trend that holds across all demographic groups.


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Framing of policy initiatives are important. When activists centered the marriage equality debate on the idea that “love is love,” the movement gained momentum.

Anchoring around words with positive associations may also work for UBI proponents. In the polling, respondents viewed “Social Security for all” much more favorably than “universal basic income.” Word choice and framing will matter if UBI is to gain broad acceptance.

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Much more at: https://medium.com/economicsecproj/could-universal-basic-income-start-with-local-and-state-legislation-5a3b60abd914#.12p4tc3ca

AND: https://medium.com/economicsecproj