Given the subject matter Friday morning in the House Committee on Appropriations, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to believe that Andrew Yang had taken a break from his campaign for New York City mayor to brief Vermont lawmakers.
However, the person discussing universal basic income with the committee wasn’t Yang, but Joyce Manchester, a senior economist in the Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Office.
Manchester was asked by Rep. Mary Hooper, D-Montpelier, to study the idea — popularized by Yang during his 2020 presidential bid — of giving every American $1,000 per month with no strings attached. The theory is that, with added financial security, people will have the flexibility to better themselves and society.
“It’s simply meant as a payment to help folks do better in their daily lives,” Manchester said.
She pointed to Covid-19 era unemployment benefits, which do not require recipients to prove they are applying for new jobs, as proof that the U.S. has moved temporarily toward a universal basic income system.
The senior economist also reported on several pilot programs around the world — including in Kenya, Finland and Stockton, California — where such systems are being implemented and studied.
Hooper, who chairs the appropriations panel, said she was not necessarily proposing that Vermont adopt a similar policy. She did say she thought it was important to consider it as the Legislature looks to meaningfully address poverty in the state.
“What we are doing doesn’t seem to be working as well as we would have hoped, and is there a different way to think about this?” she said.
The committee chair said she would be “noodling on” the idea moving forward.
There is little doubt that a universal basic income bill would face a steep climb if it were introduced any time soon in the Vermont Legislature.
However, the very fact that the appropriations committee is discussing the idea signals that expansive social safety net reforms are on the minds of at least some Vermont legislators.
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