Monday, July 23, 2018

Chicago's Next Really Bad Idea: A Guaranteed Basic Income

Money For Nothin': Apparently not satisfied with the already disastrous condition of its finances, Chicago this week said it would like to experiment with a universal basic income, a socialist pipe-dream that pops up every few years as a "new" idea. It's not. And it will never work.
Chicago alderman Ameya Pawar has already proposed legislation that would give 1,000 families $500 a month. The bill looks like a shoo-in, garnering support already from a majority of the Windy City's lawmakers. Pawar is reportedly already working on the design of the program with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Chicago is the largest city yet to toy with this bad idea. There are many things that would help the working poor climb out of poverty. But a universal basic income (UBI), also called a guaranteed government income, isn't one of them.
Yet, even some conservatives fall for the idea, dreaming of eliminating the dozens of welfare programs at the federal, state and city levels and replacing them with one big check. It's attracted a wide range of supporters, everyone from Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg to union chief Andy Stern and conservative-libertarian Charles Murray embrace the idea.
Just this week, former President Obama, speaking in South Africa, said that a guaranteed income would be one way to shrink the "yawning disparities" in wealth and education.
Read the rest of this IBD editorial HERE.

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