Oregon Will Vote in November on a $1,600 Annual Universal Basic Income

https://www.businessinsider.com/oregon-rebate-universal-basic-income-ballot-measure-november-election-2024-8

31 Comments

  1. Ban-Circumcision-Now on

    That’s not a lot to live on, this would better received classified as a “freedom dividend”

  2. This will cost you a lot more than $1,600.

    Edit: for those unfamiliar, this would be funded by a tax on revenue, not profit. The entire expense will be passed down to consumers. It’s an awful proposal.

  3. This is a step in the right direction. It seems to anger people but a universal income or stipend is the way of the future for a good portion of the workforce. Gotta keep everyone buying shit they don’t need or else capitalism fails.

  4. For the lowest paid workers in the state it’s a 4% increase in their wages. More than nothing.

  5. An Oregonian making $40k/year would pay $2700 in state income taxes.

    Then get $1600 back.

    This would effectively move the tax burden from people making $40k/year to companies making more than $25M/year

  6. I have to say that 1,600 a year would make a huge difference in my life. I have stage four cancer and receive SSI (very grateful) $943 a month. I live with my elderly handicapped mother on social security. We need so many things; food supplements, bandages, chucks for her bed, medical supplies, extra… most things are a dollar. But dollars add up quickly.

  7. Can the state consider a no vote from the rugged individualists out there as a waiver that they don’t want the money?

  8. So funny, companies had no problem being greedy dicks and gouging every consumer with faux inflation with record profits but when we want to increase tax for large companies, it’s always a bad idea and the consumer loses again.

  9. People don’t get the purpose of this is to save money on means testing. If you’re not checking on who needs welfare you save a lot of money.

  10. yellsatmotorcars on

    I love the idea of a basic income, but under capitalism without major price controls and regulations (like tieing it to local cost of living and inflation) a universal/unconditional basic income doesn’t do anything to keep landlords and capitalists from raising prices to siphon off that UBI. 

    We need an economic system that provides shelter, food, water, healthcare, education, and leisure time to *everyone* unconditionally and allows people to labor and contribute to society without worrying about becoming destitute and starving or freezing to death or dieing from preventable or treatable illnesses.

  11. Very poorly written policy that will ultimately cause businesses to leave Oregon. Definitely voting no.

  12. When corporations get tax cuts…. Do they lower their prices?

    They sure love to raise their prices when they get tax increases, greedy bastards.

  13. FYI this bill was made and pushed by two people who don’t even live in oregon, and doesn’t do anything besides put pressure on businesses to raise prices ro compensate for the higher tax rate. UBI is great but this is a terrible implementation.

  14. IWasOnThe18thHole on

    The tax is 3% on revenue, not profit. That margin is what keeps a lot of businesses afloat. This 3% will be compounded by every step of a supply chain causing higher prices for consumers at the point of sale. It will also increase rents, utilities, Healthcare, etc.

    The amount of money returned is nothing compared how much people here will spend. The state already has one of the highest tax burdens in the country with ineffectual local, county, and state governments who can’t spend money effectively or appropriately.

  15. I just submitted my early ballot and voted against it, as much as I wanted to support UBI. The tax structure seemed poorly constructed (revenue vs profit) and I’m worried about the things businesses will do to weasel out of paying, like fleeting the state. I just don’t think oregon is a big enough market for this to work. Plus, there’s still scar tissue from the drug legalization experiment, another great idea poorly implemented. I don’t want my home state to be a cautionary tale of why UBI will never work. Best to try again with a better plan in a more suitable place

  16. PointlessTrivia on

    The state of Queensland in Australia recently instituted a resources royalty on natural resources extractors, because the state owns the coal and oil they are extracting, so it should be compensated for mining and drilling.

    With it, they have given every house a $1000 rebate on their electricity bill and instituted 50c public transport fares across the state.

  17. $133 a month they’re trying to call UBI?

    This is just a tax credit and that’s okay, no need to use buzz words.

  18. At first I thought, a month?! Oh wait, annual. Well, that’s not even close to a ‘basic’ income lol

  19. In the 1970’s CEOs made a lot less than they do now in terms of pay per employee. The C-suite execs can make a few million less each year. They don’t give a damn so we might as well make them pay.

  20. kit_kat_barcalounger on

    As a tax accountant in this part of the world, I can’t support implementing yet another tax that will further alienate businesses from operating in portland. We already have several city/county specific taxes that are driving businesses away from an urban center that still hasn’t recovered from COVID.

    I also have a lack of trust when it comes to integrating new taxes in an already convoluted system, though this is largely aimed at city/county and not state (though the state of Oregon is notorious for its garbage systems *cough* unemployment *cough*).

    On the other side, I am also apprehensive about providing further resources to drug users without first having way more adequate treatment centers and outpatient rehab programs.

    “Universal Basic Income” sounds great on paper, but this is seriously not the time, place, or proper execution.

  21. icouldusemorecoffee on

    This sounds more like just renaming our annual kicker that we get back for budget surplus than an actual UBI.