Why settle for $12K from Bernie when you can have $80K in UBI?
This legislative proposal has been getting lots of hype on Reddit.
It brings up a good opportunity to discuss options for UBI.
Sanders/Khanna proposal: everyone living in a household making less than $150k per year gets $3K each from a 5% wealth (not income) tax on the 900 wealthiest billionaires (roughly $370 billion). This allows a means-tested family of four to get a one time payment of $12K.
For a family seeking an escape from poverty, that's simply not enough.
Alternative: send $20k per year to each person (adults, children) living under poverty by repurposing federally funded welfare programs ($1.2 trillion a year in spending). Will cover roughly 60 million people, and families of 4 that previously lived in poverty can now live at the median US income. Currently, 30-40 million people live in poverty, so this would also cover as many as 20 million people who might lose their jobs as the federal government redirects funds to UBI.
Plus, by having a federal plan to direct payments to those in poverty, cities (like LA, Seattle, NY) would be able to save significant amounts of money housing the homeless. Impoverished families could move to more stable environments where they could afford housing, provide child care, and search for meaningful work.
I'm not against a wealth tax, but I am against a tax that doesn't materially change outcomes. $12K doesn't do much to lift a family out of systemic poverty.
EDIT: Technically, I agree that this formula is not "universal". That said, I think it's ok to get rid of poverty as phase 1 for UBI.