Chicago sets up universal income task force as city seeks ways to tackle poverty

Has the Rahmster started his ‘campaign’ already? Because I don’t believe for one second that he’s suddenly developed a social conscience, some sudden empathy for the poor. And how is this supposed to work anyway?

Chicago sets up universal income task force as city seeks ways to tackle poverty

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will form a task force that will consider implementing the so-called “universal basic income” program in the city, as the embattled mayor seeks to cement his progressive legacy after promising not to run for another term.

The idea for the program, which would make monthly payments to a number of Chicago families without any conditions, has been floated around in the city for months now.

Back in June, Chicago’s North Side Ald. Ameya Pawar introduced a resolution calling upon the mayor to launch the pilot of the program and pay 1,000 families $500 every month.

The new task force set up by Emanuel, according to the Chicago Tribune, will have a panel that will decide whether such welfare initiative could work in the city.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/09/12/chicago-sets-up-universal-inc...

I’m confused. Where’s the money going to come from? Chicago can’t (and won’t) even support its schools.

Rahm Emanuel Will Leave Chicago With Crime Still High and Schools Still Struggling

http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-rahm-emanuel-legacy-reelect...

That $500 a month times 1000 = $500,000 a month. Times twelve = $6,000,000 a year.

That would be on top of welfare?

Top 11 states with most people on welfare

The 11 states included:

* Alabama
* California
* Hawaii
* Illinois
* Kentucky
* Mains
* Mississippi
* New Mexico
* New York
* Ohio
* South Carolina

https://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/01/13/top-11-states-with-mos...

These 15 States Have the Most People on Food Stamps

15. Illinois
Percentage of people on food stamps: 14.6%
Number of people on food stamps: 1,869,067
Estimated cost of benefits: Around $224.28 million

Illinois’ state population is nearly 13 million according to the Census data, and almost 2 million of them have trouble putting food on the table. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities notes that 65% of Illinois SNAP participants (aka food stamps) were in families with children in 2016 while 28% were elderly or had a disability

https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/states-people-food-stamps.html/

I’ve been bitching and whining about the desperate need for a JOBS PROGRAM since 2008. Maybe they could turn the work on Obama’s shrine, the $200 million dollar part the taxpayers of Illinois have to cough up, into exactly that. Now wouldn’t that make sense? People get jobs and money, the taxpayers get a break (for a change).

Obama Presidential Center to cost Illinois taxpayers nearly $200 million

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/obama-presi...

Rahm’s sudden case of the worries isn’t because he suddenly cares about the poor. It’s because he’s ‘interviewing’ for what he hopes will be his next job.

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Of course not! BMI has always been a scam to replace welfare with something that sounds good but starves people faster. Rahm is trying to reduce welfare to $6000 a year. Britain tried that, but the people wouldn't fall for it. Yes, there have been "successful" BMI style programs, but all have used flawed methodology - they were short term and provided much higher amounts of money only to a limited set of people, giving the test subjects both an incentive and the resources to use that money wisely. $500 a month - I repeat, $6000 a year - is neither.
I repeat my suggestion, give everyone a guaranteed minimum of $25k through the tax code. Set the personal deduction at $25k and make it refundable. Everyone is eligible, no one is "on welfare", and it is not inflationary. And it is enough to live a deacent life.

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On to Biden since 1973

TheOtherMaven's picture

@doh1304

and up, and up, and up.

The greedheads think that ALL is not enough.

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

@TheOtherMaven
generally prices are set by whatever the populace can afford. Give the people more money and prices go up proportionately - the wage/price spiral. That's why BMI is inflationary; give everyone money and capitalists will just take it. But building a floor is less inflationary, because the only people technically benefiting will only benefit by being able to play at all. There will be some inflation - slumlords will raise their rents a little and such, but the "middle class" will only see the present rate of inflation, because they won't technically be getting more money to take.

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On to Biden since 1973

Amanda Matthews's picture

$25k through the tax code. Set the personal deduction at $25k and make it refundable.

That’s ridiculous. Give everyone that much? Head of household? What about us old folks on SS?

I don’t care what Rahm is ‘trying’ to do. I do care that there is a need for assistance. But I wonder why there should be this ‘give everybody $25k’ nonsense without any strings attached. Plus how long until that $25k is suddenly worth half that?

I can see a basic minimum wage but NOT a guaranteed $25k income. Where’s the incentive to get a job then? And where does it get cut off? Who qualifies? ‘Everybody’ is not realistic. Not unless you can figure out how to get Bezos, Buffett, and Gates to pay their damn share of the costs of running this country.

And just to throw one more log on the fire, what about the influx of immigrants, both legal and undocumented? Guaranteed wage? Waiting period? What?

This study is the first in recent years to examine immigrant (legal and illegal) and native welfare use using the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). While its complexity makes it difficult to use, the survey is widely regarded as providing the most accurate picture of welfare participation. The SIPP shows immigrant households use welfare at significantly higher rates than native households, even higher than indicated by other Census surveys.

In 2012, 51 percent of households headed by an immigrant (legal or illegal) reported that they used at least one welfare program during the year, compared to 30 percent of native households.
Welfare in this study includes Medicaid and cash, food, and housing programs.

Welfare use is high for both new arrivals and well-established immigrants. Of households headed by immigrants who have been in the country for more than two decades, 48 percent access welfare.

No single program explains immigrants' higher overall welfare use. For example, not counting subsidized school lunch, welfare use is still 46 percent for immigrants and 28 percent for natives.

Not counting Medicaid, welfare use is 44 percent for immigrants and 26 percent for natives.

Immigrant households have much higher use of food programs (40 percent vs. 22 percent for natives) and Medicaid (42 percent vs. 23 percent). Immigrant use of cash programs is somewhat higher than natives (12 percent vs. 10 percent) and use of housing programs is similar to natives.

https://cis.org/Report/Welfare-Use-Immigrant-and-Native-Households

Where is all this money supposed to come from?

AGAIN, we need a JOBS program. Not a ‘guaranteed’ allotment. Our infrastructure is going to Hell and there are more than enough ‘shovel ready’ jobs and opportunities to create jobs in schools, hospitals, nursing homes to put people to work. That could them a means to support themselves at a guaranteed minimum wage.

I’ll be 69 in a couple weeks. I got laid off at 62. I am still going on job interviews because my income (SS) is below the poverty line. I don’t make it past the first interview. But I live on what I paid in. I do weird stuff like babysit dogs, house sit, do taxes for a couple people. I do what I can. I don’t expect a paycheck because I exist. No one should.

P.S. there will still be a need for food stamps, WIC, heat aid, etc. and those programs should be adequately funded.

EDIT: Gated/Gates

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

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