Hawaii just became the first US state to support a universal basic income

[workinclasszero]

Hawaii just became the first US state to support a universal basic income
Representative Chris Lee is the brains behind a new measure designed to guarantee economic security for residents of the island state
Chris Weller Business Insider 3 hours ago

Hawaii made waves in June when it passed the first piece of legislation aimed at exploring a niche but growing form of wealth distribution.

The bill, HCR 89, directs the government “to convene a basic economic security working group,” a request that can be seen as the first tangible step toward a US basic income program.

People who receive basic income get a fixed amount of money that they can use however they want.

Early research has shown that people typically don't spend this money on vices or vacations; instead, they use it to pay for things like home repairs, school expenses, and the costs of starting new businesses.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world-0/hawaii-universal-basic-income-salary-wages-wealth-distribution-chris-lee-a7826931.html

[LittleBlue]

1. Hawaii can't afford it

I've been to Hawaii more times than I can count on business and pleasure. They have far too many non-workers, and far too many of the jobs are low pay service jobs. I can't think of one major corporation that is located there. The entire island pays for its budget with room taxes, sales tax and the few rich foreigners who spend long enough periods there to be subject to income tax.

It isn't even remotely feasible. They don't have the tax base to pay for it. Any bill for UI will either die or transform Hawaii into the new Illinois/Puerto Rico. UI can only work on a national level.

[oberliner]

2. The bill just creates a working group to look into it

Perhaps they will come to the same conclusions you did, but it can't hurt to explore the idea.

[leftstreet]

3. Commies!

DURec