- A Republican lawmaker in Arizona has introduced a bill that would ban guaranteed basic income programs.
- The bill would prohibit any county or municipality from providing “accrued” payments to residents.
- Republicans in other states, including Iowa and South Dakota, have introduced similar bans.
Arizona Republican lawmakers are joining a chorus of conservatives across the country calling for a ban on basic income programs that provide unconditional payments to residents.
The Arizona Legislature has introduced a bill that would prohibit any municipality or county from making payments to individuals as part of the guaranteed basic income program. law, House Bill 2375So, a “guaranteed income program” is a program where someone receives a payment that is “passive income” and can be used for any reason.
Many cities across the country are experimenting with guaranteed basic income programs through local initiatives and nonprofit organizations. The program typically pays between $500 and $1,000 a month for low-income residents and families to spend as they wish.
In Denver, for example, a basic income program that gives some people up to $1,000 a month was recently extended after participants reported. Improving home safety.
Basic income programs have grown in popularity in recent years due to the housing affordability crisis, rising numbers of homeless people, the fallout from the pandemic, and concerns that AI will replace many jobs.
Most of these programs are different from the $1,000-a-month universal basic income that former presidential candidate and businessman Andrew Yang campaigned for in 2016. In a universal basic income program, the government would provide a basic amount to everyone. Meanwhile, guaranteed basic income programs that are popping up across the country target specific segments of the population.
Guaranteed basic income programs are less politically problematic than universal basic income, but they are not without criticism.
The Arizona bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Lupe Diaz, compared guaranteed income to socialism, the paper said. arizona mirror. Speaking about the bill on Wednesday, Diaz specifically mentioned the 2022 Phoenix Act, which would leverage federal COVID-19 funds to provide $1,000 per month to 1,000 low-income families for one year, according to the report. He cited regional programs.
The Phoenix City Council used $12 million in federal relief funds for the program, according to the Phoenix New Times. To qualify, households must earn less than 80% of the area's median income of $63,200, according to the report.
In other places like Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston; COVID-19 Fund for Basic Income Guarantee Program. The Texas attorney general is reviewing the constitutionality of the plan following comments from Republican state lawmakers. I tried it in January.
Other Republicans are also pushing back.Iowa lawmakers called for a basic income program “Socialism on steroids” Meanwhile, it has introduced a bill similar to Arizona's that would ban such programs in the state. South Dakota is considering a similar bill.
According to the Arizona Mirror, another Republican sponsoring the bill, Arizona Rep. John Gillette, said the guarantee of a basic income system would “deprive one party of payments to the other” and that it is already established. He argued that this could undermine the existing social safety net.
Arizona's bill is scheduled to be read a second time in the Legislature on Thursday.
