$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