Denver’s basic income pilot — which first started payments in fall 2022 — focused on over 800 Coloradans experiencing homelessness, including people living in cars, temporary shelters, the outdoors, or other non-fixed living situations. Participants like Laws were given direct cash payments, no strings attached, and could spend the money on whatever they needed.
Denver released the project’s one-year report on June 18, showing that 45% of participants secured their own house or apartment after receiving basic income for 10 months. They also experienced fewer emergency room visits, nights spent in a hospital or a temporary shelter, and jail stays. The report estimates that this reduction in public service use saved the city $589,214.
Or — now hear me out — we give all that money to corporations and watch it trickle down to these people. Probably in spades!
First of all, I know you’re being sarcastic and I’m agreeing with you, not trying to counteract your sarcasm.
What is so frustrating is, these are just made up numbers, invisible to everyone but the banks, being hoarded in tax havens. These multi billion (trillion?) dollar companies just stockpile it in Ireland or the Cayman Islands or wherever, they don’t put it back into the economy. You can bet your ass that these low income people put it right back into the economy. How could they even hoard it? Tax the corporations properly and go after the dodgers with all we have, it’s our only way out of this mess.
Edit: Apparently they did the same thing to Ireland: https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/apple-paradise-papers-reportedly-cash-jersey-channel-island-to-avoid-irish-taxes/
I’m more concerned about made up numbers in the original article on Denver’s pilot UBI. I want to game this out with help, the math doesn’t quite add up.