I don’t know about you, but I could use an extra $500 to $1,000 dollars a month.
With the housing crisis Utah is experiencing, it has become inconvenient to live anywhere but your car or with multiple housemates. A majority of us can’t afford to buy a home with a $300,000 price tag.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition reports Utahns need to have an average income of $36,952 to afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rate, which seems an impossibility for those of us who earn less than the average median household, which is most of us.
In 2017, the average per-capita income for Utahns was $28,085, while the rest of the country’s per capita income was $32,397.
Utah, we have an economic problem. We also have hope, in the form of a couple of presidential candidates who have plans to make Universal Basic Income a priority policy for all Americans. I have heard one candidate mention $500 a month for citizens over 18 years old and another who says $1,000 a month is realistic, affordable and necessary. That is $6,000 to $12,000 per year per person in your home.
Before you scream “Socialism!,” invent stories about how others will abuse this sort of entitlement or become appalled by how Universal Basic Income is an idea of the political party you absolutely cannot agree with and ultimately justify writing the idea off, consider how something like this could move you and your family into stability and financial security. Just consider it.
Szudia Bragg, Tooele
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