- Arizona House Republicans unanimously voted to ban basic income programs in the state.
- They say guaranteed basic income programs are like socialism.
- Arizona has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the United States.
Arizona Republicans also seem to fully agree that a guaranteed basic income is a terrible idea.
The Arizona House of Representatives on Thursday voted in favor of a bill that would ban a guaranteed basic income program in the state, even though the state suffers from the fourth-highest homelessness rate in the nation.
Not a single Democrat voted in favor of the bill. But the Republican majority voted unanimously in favor.
Basic income programs, which provide unconditional payments to sections of society, are gaining momentum across the United States as a way to address the gap between rich and poor and reduce poverty.
The bill's author, Republican Rep. Lupe Diaz, likened such programs to socialism and called the payments “passive income.” Diaz did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The law prohibits “programs in which regular and periodic cash payments are provided to persons that are unearned income and may be used for any purpose.” This does not include work or training programs.
The bill still needs to pass the state Senate to become law. The state Senate is made up of 30 members, 16 Republicans and 14 Democrats.
Basic Income Guarantee programs typically support eligible families and individuals, often those living at or near the poverty line, with regular government payments over a period of time. These are more targeted versions of universal basic income, giving funds to all citizens regardless of income or other considerations.
Dozens of cities and states have experimented with different styles of unconditional cash assistance in recent years.
In Baltimore, for example, the Young Families Success Fund gives young mothers $1,000 a month. Oregon's program provides $1,000 per month to young people living below the poverty line.
A senior director at Point Source Youth, a national youth homeless nonprofit that helped promote the Oregon program, told Business Insider that participants use the money to secure housing, enroll in school, and buy cars. He said that he used it for
Another program in Austin, which gave low-income families $1,000 a month, found that participants were “significantly more secure in their homes” a year after the program started than when they enrolled. . On average, participants said they spent more than half of the payments they received on housing, according to the report.
But despite the program's apparent success, some state legislators, mostly Republicans, argue that the program disincentivizes recipients from working. trying to ban it.
One basic income program in Harris County, Texas, where Houston is located, is under constitutional review by the state's attorney general after a Republican state lawmaker requested a review. The Uplift Harris program leverages $20.5 million in COVID-19 relief funds to help provide $500 monthly payments to low-income households.
Republicans in other states have introduced bans similar to the one proposed in Arizona. In Iowa, Republican state Rep. Steve Holt introduced a bill last month that would ban basic income systems, calling them “socialism on steroids.”
Another South Dakota basic income ban passed out of committee on a party-line vote of 8-1 on February 5th and is now before the state Senate.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. John Wick, said in a Feb. 5 committee meeting that a basic income program is a “socialist idea.”
“Guaranteed income programs, also known as basic income, undermine the dignity of earning a dollar and are a one-way ticket to government dependence,” Wike said at the hearing.
