New Jersey’s largest city plans to test whether universal basic income is feasible, making it the latest government to flirt with a program that would guarantee income for residents whether or not they have a job. In 2017, Finland tested the program, giving 560 Euros ($584) to 2,000 unemployed Finnish citizens per month, with no requirement to find a paying job. Also in California, a startup, Y Combinator, based in Oakland, began a basic income test this year, giving $1,500 a month to randomly selected residents. A 2017 Pew Research Center study found that 60 percent of Americans favor the government providing a “guaranteed income that would allow them to meet their basic needs,” as workers with a high school diploma were the most likely to support a universal basic income at 65 percent. Meanwhile, 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang is pushing a plan for universal basic income.

Source: Fox News March 18, 2019 12:52 UTC