Today’s Solutions: December 08, 2024

In April, we shared a story about the Spanish government’s plans to introduce a basic income program—though it wasn’t clear whether it would be implemented on a country-wide scale. This week we got to know that Spain has decided to implement what it’s calling a national minimum income, ensuring that people in the nation’s 850,000 lowest-income households receive at least roughly $500 a month in income.

The plan aims to reach 2.3 million people and is expected to cost the government about €3 billion a year. People between 23 and 65 years old with “assets of less than 16,614 euros,” not including house and discounted loans, will be eligible for the basic income plan, according to Reuters, and will include incentives for finding “a formal job,” though it’s not clear exactly what those incentives are.

Though the minimum amount the government is guaranteeing is €462 a month, that amount will increase with the number of family members, up to a total of €1,105 a month. A family is defined as “vulnerable” and eligible for the plan if its monthly income is €10 or more below the minimum income. At the point, the government will give them enough cash to meet the thresholds (but won’t exceed them).

The idea of giving everyone money through a universal basic income has been gaining traction in recent years, and the coronavirus crisis added fuel to that fight. Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang renewed his call for a UBI after the United States stimulus package fell short. California’s Santa Clara County recently announced that it will give $1,000 a month to people recently transitioned out of foster care, and it hopes to expand that to people affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

With more than 40 million Americans unemployed and countless others around the globe struggling to get by, advocates have said that the pandemic highlights the need for a guaranteed income, especially as a way to fight a devastating recession.

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

Forget dressers, IKEA wants you to build a bee house

The task of building IKEA furniture has been challenging newlyweds and college students for years. In 2020, the company started offering a new challenge ...

Read More

Want healthier houseplants? Try naming them

Have a hard time keeping houseplants alive? The key to a greener thumb might just be giving your plant a name. It sounds silly, ...

Read More

Benefits of working out in the nude

We've written before about how spending time naked can improve your body image, and it’s well known that regular exercise also improves self-esteem and ...

Read More

Hawaii is the first US state to enact ban on shark fishing

On the first day of the year, January 1st, 2022, Hawaii became the first state in the US to enact a ban on shark ...

Read More