Deadline to apply for $1,000 monthly checks is TOMORROW – see if you can get one

Chicago UBI program faces delays, part three

Alderman Gilbert Villegas, a City Council member who has strongly supported the universal basic income pilot, told the outlet of his frustration in regards to the bureaucratic delay.

“I’ll just continue telling constituents that they have to hold out although we’ve got the money because we haven’t been able to get it out the door,” Villegas told the Chicago Sun-Times.

“That’s the bureaucratic way. Just to continue to talk about it and talk about it until this freaking problem goes away.”

“By the time this is finalized, the pandemic will be over with.”

Chicago UBI program faces delays, part two

No checks have gone out and “not a single application has been accepted,” the outlet noted. “The Lightfoot administration hasn’t even announced who’s eligible to apply.”

However, the Department of Family and Support Services did release two requests for proposals for agencies to “administer and execute outreach for the pilot.”

In a statement, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office said it is “working regularly with aldermen, advocates, policy experts and people who have experienced poverty to ensure the program reaches all four corners of the city” and that “specific eligibility criteria and the application process” would be announced sometime later this month.

Chicago UBI program faces delays

In October 2021, Chicago’s $16.7 billion 2022 budget put aside $31.5 million in federal pandemic relief money to start what the city’s mayor said was the nation’s largest universal basic income pilot program, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The program was supposed to send $500 monthly checks to 5,000 needy families for a one-year test period.

However, as of February 2022, the program was “stuck in bureaucratic neutral,” the outlet reported.

Chicago will distribute $500, conclusion

At a press briefing, Lightfoot outlined why she is confident that the number of candidates would significantly outnumber the program’s funding, Fox32 reported.

She said: “Today, 18% of our residents live in poverty. And 44% live just on the edge of poverty. One job loss and one medical emergency away from financial peril.”

“Over 200,000 Chicagoans live in extreme poverty. Meaning their income is less than $6,795-a-year — or $13,875-a-year for a family of four.”

“Those are devastating numbers. Imagine that for a moment, and trying to keep a family of four fed, clothed, safe and healthy on roughly $13,800-a-year. It’s virtually impossible.”

Chicago will distribute $500, continued

Previously, Lightfoot said that the city will begin the lottery for the program in April, marking the two-year anniversary of her anti-poverty campaign.

Chicago.gov/cashpilot is the website where you may apply.

Applicants must live in Chicago, be at least 18 years old, have endured financial hardship as a result of Covid-19, and have a family income of less than 250 percent of the federal poverty threshold to be considered. For a family of four, that comes to $55,575.

Chicago will distribute $500 to 5,000 people

Because demand for the $500 monthly payments is projected to outpace the $31.5million in available funds, Chicago will run a lottery to choose 5,000 participants in what Mayor Lori Lightfoot has called the country’s largest universal basic income program, according to Fox32.

The year-long test phase may finally be getting off the ground four months after the City Council decided to spend a portion of federal pandemic relief money to give the no-strings-attached monetary support.

Negative Income Tax, part two

It was hoped that by making these negative tax payments, the government would be able to reach more individuals than present support programs, save costs and complexity, and remove the disincentive to work posed by a high tax rate.

In the 1960s and 1970s, a number of trials with negative income taxes were conducted, most notably in New Jersey.

The concept, however, never caught on, according to US News.

What is Negative Income Tax?

While Universal Basic Income has gained traction, a negative income tax is another proposal to help relieve poverty in the country.

It was proposed by Milton Friedman, a professor at the University of Chicago, in 1962, and advocated for the federal government to distribute cash to persons in lower-income groups through the income tax system.

Android app for crypto-based UBI

GoodDollar, a community-driven and non-profit blockchain network, has released its native Android app, the latest addition to its lengthy list of plans for 2022, according to TipRanks.

Since its test release in December, the newly released software has been downloaded by more than 27,000 people.

The GoodDollar team published the GoodDollar V2 update in December 2021 to offer more functionality to its V1 protocol.

The V2 update was a huge success in terms of giving its worldwide community all of the tools they need to guarantee that its crypto-based universal basic income continues to be delivered to everyone.

UBI use study

According to research conducted as part of the Universal Basic Income initiative and cited by local media outlet Finger Lakes 1:

• 28 percent of funding went to food
• 28 percent of funding went to services
• 24 percent of funding went to sales and merchandise

What is the American Rescue Plan?

Biden’s emergency legislative package included funding for immunizations, urgent and direct help for families affected by the Covid-19 issue, and community support.

The president’s strategy included establishing a nationwide immunization campaign, containing Covid-19, and reopening schools securely.

To combat the spread of the virus, the initiative established community immunization stations around the country, increased testing and tracking, and provided paid sick leave, among other things.

The bill also addressed the required investments to accomplish Biden’s objective of reopening a majority of K-8 schools in a safe and timely manner during his first 100 days in office.

Stipend for students, part three

“We said, ‘Here are the numbers. What ideas do you have to address the crisis around inequality … and racialized wealth inequality, income inequality?’” Myers-Lipton said.

Myers-Lipton had not anticipated the outcome of Cortese’s September Zoom call — a pilot program to support low-income students by providing them with monthly state aid payments of $500.

The program is based on UBI plans, which have gained popularity in recent years and are utilized by municipalities and other government organizations to combat persistent poverty and economic inequality.

Stipend for students, continued

Professor Myers-Lipton discovered more than 4,000 students at the institution had experienced homelessness in the year before the survey when he co-authored the 2020 Silicon Valley Pain Index, a yearly assessment on income and racial inequality in the surrounding area, per InsideHigherEd.com

Because they couldn’t afford food, half of the students polled said they ate smaller quantities or skipped meals entirely.

Something had to be done, according to Myers-Lipton and William Armaline, a co-author of the study and head of the university’s Human Rights Institute.

They sought assistance from local, state, and federal legislators.

The researchers scheduled a meeting with Dave Cortese, a state senator from California whose district includes San José.

Stipend for students

A California lawmaker wants to provide $500 monthly stipends to thousands of low-income students to help them get by, according to InsideHigherEd.com.

The concept is based on universal basic income initiatives.

Students were consistently suffering financially, and others were sleeping in their cars, “scared out of their minds” about their safety, according to Scott Myers-Lipton, a sociology professor at San José State University.

Others slept at the university library or the student union building at night.