Poverty is an issue that plenty of American households face. As a matter of fact, approximately 37.25 million individuals lived below the poverty line in 2020. When people struggle financially, it can be challenging to get the things they need to survive. This includes shelter, groceries, and so on. Furthermore, they might have the basic items, but it can still be hard to afford the bills that come with the necessities. This could be the price of gas, utility bills, and so on. Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a way that some people want to beat this issue. Most people are unaware of what UBI is and how it might be useful for them. If you can relate to this situation, then we hope that this article clarifies UBI for you!

What is Universal Basic Income (UBI)?

Every adult citizen in the United States would regularly receive a specific amount of money with the UBI program. This program aims to support poor people and serve as a substitute for other needs-based programs from the government. However, this is not new, but it has been the “recent talk of the town” in the United States as people look for support. UBI is an idea that has existed for hundreds of years. Even though there are financial support options across the United States to help low-income families, like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), tax credit assistance, and so on, UBI has never been more than an idea.

What is the People’s Reaction When It Comes to UBI?

Many people find that UBI would be useful. However, there are a significant number of people who do not think UBI should be implemented in society. Let’s take a look at an example for more context. During the 2020 campaign, presidential candidate Andrew Yang endorsed the idea of giving all United States citizens $1,000 per month, as long as they were over the age of 18. That would mean Americans would receive $12,000 per year. Of course, this was only an idea because Yang did not continue for long in the presidential race.

However, there are also a lot of people that completely shut down the idea of implementing UBI because it would be too expensive to offer this kind of support. If we follow Andrew Yang’s proposition as an example, then it would cost approximately $2.8 trillion per year to cover this type of support. While Yang suggested reducing the funds of other federal programs and taxing more from businesses and carbon emissions, that is still not enough to provide this type of support completely.

Other than being too expensive, there is another reason why people do not support UBI, which is they expect a lot of people will no longer actively look for work with UBI in place because UBI is essentially free money. However, a response to that point from people who support UBI is that $12,000 is not enough to cover a living income. Instead, it is an amount that is meant to support an existing income.

Areas that Offer UBI in the United States: Do They Exist and Where?

Despite the fact that there are no programs on the federal level that offer Americans UBI, there are areas that offer an alternative. Some locations in the United States offer a guaranteed fixed income to eligible people, which include:

• Tacoma, Washington
• Oakland, California
• Columbia, South Carolina

Similar to other federal programs, these opportunities only help those who are eligible. For instance, Tacoma, Washington offers fixed income to only 110 recipients, where they can receive $500 per month for just one year. This program is only temporary and it expires in December 2022. It would be useful for you to see if there are any similar options in your area. You never know what you might find.

Other Federal Programs to Help You

UBI might not take place soon across the country, but there are other federal programs that can help you out if you are financially struggling. Some of these federal programs include:

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• Housing Choice Voucher Program

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

TANF is a popular federal program that helps people in financial hardship. TANF provides grants to state governments and territories so they can offer financial support and other services. However, each state has its own version of the TANF program, which means some things will vary. You can expect, however, to find support with employment, preparing for a job, child care, and so on.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

SNAP is another popular federal program for Americans with limited income. SNAP is a food support program that offers people funds through an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. The program transfers money to the card each month and recipients use the funds at participating locations. The store needs to accept EBT cards as payment and even then, recipients can only buy eligible grocery items. Qualifying groceries include dairy, fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, and so on. How much you can receive depends on several components like the state you are applying in, your level of income, and your household situation.

Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

People can find themselves in a tight spot often, especially when they are going through different levels of poverty. This is obvious when someone earns too much to be eligible for Medicaid, but they do not earn enough to afford private health insurance. That is why CHIP is so important. CHIP is a program that offers healthcare coverage for families in this situation. With CHIP, kids up to the age of 19 can receive cheap healthcare coverage. However, the details of this opportunity depend on the state.

Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP)

The housing choice voucher program, or Section 8, is a housing aid program that helps Americans with restricted income. Each state has its own version of the program. However, the program in all participating states provides housing vouchers to eligible recipients. If someone wants to be eligible, then they need to meet requirements on the level of income, eviction background, size of their household, and so on. How much the vouchers will amount to is based on eligibility components such as the level of income and the size of the family.

Recipients can use vouchers at locations that allow them as payment, which means that it will limit the choices of properties for the recipient. This might make the search process a little more difficult. Additionally, the HCV program might put you on a waitlist. Waitlists can last from months to years. This means that you might not receive housing aid as soon as you think.

The Final Verdict

UBI is a federal program that would regularly provide every adult citizen in the United States with a specific amount of money. This program aims to support poor people and serves as a substitute for other needs-based programs from the government. There is no implementation of UBI in the United States overall, but there are local support opportunities that offer a fixed income. There are other federal assistance options that can support you with living costs. This includes TANF, SNAP, CHIP, and Section 8. You have a lot of support opportunities to consider, even if the support is not from UBI.