Oregon voters may soon decide if the Beaver State will be the first in the country to implement a universal basic income program that would put cash in residents’ pockets by taxing corporations.
Advocates of Initiative Petition 17 have said they collected thousands more signatures than required to get the guaranteed income proposal on Oregon’s ballot this fall, according to The Oregonian. The Secretary of State’s office must still certify the signatures before the measure can officially be added to the November ballot. Voters would then approve or reject the initiative.
The Oregon proposal comes as increasing numbers of US cities and counties pilot basic income programs. The programs typically involve a recurring cash payment given to all people within a certain population, and program participants receive the money regardless of their employment. Recipients also have no limitations on how the money can be spent.
Oregon’s proposed UBI program would be a first-of-its-kind initiative, granting every state resident about $750 a year, according to The Oregonian. To fund the program, a 3% tax on corporations’ sales above $25 million would be implemented, and the resulting money would be distributed evenly to residents of all ages.
Oregon’s State Department of Revenue would be responsible for doling out the money, and residents would choose to receive their funds either as a cash payment or a refundable tax credit, according to the initiative draft. Any leftover funding from the corporation tax would be put toward services for the elderly, the healthcare system, and education.
Support for the proposal appears to have some business leaders worried, The Oregonian reported. Business groups are preparing for a fight over the measure and readying a campaign to fight the proposal, arguing it would hurt the state’s economy.
The results from more than 100 basic income pilots that have run in the US in recent years suggest the concept is overwhelmingly successful.
While data is still limited, more and more places are piloting their own basic income programs, including North Carolina, which has given cash to formerly incarcerated people, and Oregon, which has already handed out funds to homeless youth.
Participants in these programs typically fall below the federal poverty line, though some pilot programs have zeroed in on specific populations, like households with children or the formerly incarcerated.
Many people who have received basic income payments primarily use the money to pay for basic living costs like food, housing, and transportation, Business Insider previously reported.
As basic income programs become more commonplace, however, the concept is gaining political and economic opposition. Conservative lawmakers have accused guaranteed basic income of being a “socialist” tactic and suggest the programs could discourage low-income people from working.
But basic income pilots, for the most part, seem to be working — even in red states.
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