When I was doing research on what Martin Luther King had to
say about consumers, I was surprised to learn that he supported a guaranteed
income for all Americans in his last book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or
Community?” written in 1967.
King said programs to improve housing and education and to
offer counseling to families were sporadically funded and uncoordinated. And,
in addition, he said such programs are indirect. Each seeks to solve poverty by
first solving something else.
King, pointing out that at the time there were twice as many
whites as blacks living in poverty, said dislocations in the market operation
of our economy and the prevalence of discrimination thrust people into idleness
and bind them in constant or frequent unemployment against their will.
“We also know that no matter how dynamically the economy
develops and expands it does not eliminate all poverty,” he added.
“The curse of poverty has no justification in our age,” King
said. “The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct, and
immediate abolition of poverty.”
King was right about the expansion of economy not
eliminating poverty. It’s been more than 40 years since he wrote his book, and poverty
in America and its social consequences are worsening.
Citizens Dividend, the Web site where I found the
information on King’s book, describes how a guaranteed income for all would
work.
It suggests funding guaranteed
incomes not by getting money from producers and taxpayers, but by using revenue
that wasn’t produced in the free-market portion of the economy – from monopolies,
which are government-granted privileges.
An example from Citizens Dividend:
When the federal government allows private broadcasters access to a new set of
airwaves, instead of giving away the airwave rights to a few big radio or TV
station owners, leases for the airwave rights should be auctioned off and the
revenue from the auction of leases should go to citizens.
In Alaska, oil-drilling companies
operating on state-owned sites pay a royalty to the state, which divides the
money among Alaska citizens. It’s called a Permanent Fund Dividend check. I
lived in Alaska for four years. It was great to receive the checks.
The guaranteed income certainly is worth considering,
although I haven’t heard much about it in recent years.
In 2007, 5.8 percent of all people in married families lived
in poverty, as did 26.6 percent of all persons in single-parent households, and
19.1 percent of all persons living alone, according to the U.S. Census.
In 2007, the following lived in poverty: 12.5 percent of all
people, 10.5 percent of whites, 24.5 percent of blacks, and 21.5 percent of all
Hispanics.
Some argue these government figures are understated.
In 2007, 37 million people lived in poverty, with 10 million
of those being black, according to The New York Times.
In 2007, a task force organized by the Center
for American Progress prepared a report called “From Poverty to Prosperity: A
National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half.”
The 12 recommends of the task force are:
- Raise and index the
minimum wage to half the average hourly wage.
- Expand the Earned
Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
- Promote unionization
by enacting the Employee Free Choice Act.
- Guarantee child care
assistance to low-income families and promote early education for all.
- Create two million
new “opportunity” housing vouchers, and promote equitable development in and
around central cities.
- Connect
disadvantaged and disconnected youth with school and work.
- Simplify and expand
Pell Grants and make higher education accessible to residents of each state.
- Help former
prisoners find stable employment and reintegrate into their communities.
- Ensure equity for
low-wage workers in the Unemployment Insurance system.
- Modernize
means-tested benefits programs to develop a coordinated system that helps
workers and families.
- Reduce the high
costs of being poor and increase access to financial services.
- Expand and simplify
the Saver’s Credit to encourage saving for education, home ownership, and
retirement.
The guaranteed
income wasn’t included in the recommendations of the task force.
Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist
