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Oakland, California Begins Guaranteed Income Program: ‘Invest in Justice,’ ‘Change the System’

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mystery-ak:
Oakland, California Begins Guaranteed Income Program: ‘Invest in Justice,’ ‘Change the System’

Penny Starr 8 Jun 2021

The Northern California city of Oakland — ranked the second most dangerous city in the state — is beginning its guaranteed income program by randomly selecting families who will receive $500 “with no strings attached” for 18 months.

The city’s website, named Oakland Resilient Familes, describes the program this way:

A guaranteed income is predicated on the understanding that people are the experts in their own lives, and that the solutions to poverty are being created by the communities experiencing it. This unconditional, no-strings-attached income is meant to enhance, rather than replace, the existing social safety net by providing families with the flexibility to decide how best to meet their needs.

more
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/06/08/oakland-california-begins-guaranteed-income-program-invest-in-justice-change-the-system/

The_Reader_David:
It will be interesting to see how the experiment works out. 

The problem is that the real argument in favor of a guaranteed income program, in the form of a universal basic income, is the argument that Hayek gave, and to see that he was correct requires a UBI to be the only poverty-alleviation program, replacing all means tested programs.  In brief his argument is that there is a difference between paying people whether or not they work (UBI) and paying people not to work (our current means-tested system).  The latter creates a far greater incentive to try to remain on the dole since they impose what is in effect a confisctory tax rate on entry into the job-market:  one effectively earns only one's take-home pay minus the benefits lost by no longer meeting the means test.  Hayek argued that a UBI was the only poverty-alleviation program that does not create perverse incentives in the job market that effectively mire the "beneficiaries" in poverty.

Overlaying a means-tested system with an unconditional income doesn't fix the problem with the means-tested system.  On the other hand, if they find beneficial effects, it would provide an even stronger argument for moving to a UBI.

DefiantMassRINO:
I foresee liquor stores and marijuana dispenseries offering check cashing services.

Kamaji:
The No-Drug-Dealer-Left-Behind Act.

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