The power of populist politics in the 2016 election is forcing parties to take economic insecurity seriously, and to think of ways to soothe voter anger. Increasing the minimum wage or lowering taxes feel tired to voters, and thus more radical proposals to make Americans feel economically secure, like free college from Bernie Sanders (and now Hillary Clinton) and tariffs from Donald Trump, are also now a part of the debate.
One of the boldest ideas in policy circles is Basic Income, where every citizen has a minimum income guaranteed by the government. An odd coalition of conservative, libertarian, and liberal intellectuals has advocated for Basic Income over the past 60 years. But despite this storied history and its newfound popularity among policy elites, Basic Income is without a clear champion within the Democrat or Republican parties. But with the upheaval brought on by the 2016 election, that might soon change.
If Basic Income sounds like a crazy idea, consider the government already has a guaranteed minimum income for older people — it’s called Social Security, and it’s very popular. Basic Income would expand the cash transfer to everyone. In some versions, dependent children receive less; in others, the transfer phases out for those who make more money. But in all versions, a proposal to provide anything close to a living wage to all families would be expensive and require changing the tax code.
[For more of this story, written by Alexander Holt, go to https://psmag.com/universal-ba...2858bf2c0#.hlghg5rjs]
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