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Local Guaranteed Basic Income Plans
Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol are attacking the plan that would stop local governments from developing, or continuing their own guaranteed basic income plans.
The Assembly Committee on Public Benefit Reform on Tuesday held a hearing on AB 165, which would “prohibit” local governments from using state tax dollars for “regular periodic cash payments that are unearned.”
One of Wisconsin’s progressive lawmakers, Rep. Ryan Clancy, D-Milwaukee, said banning local basic income programs is an attack on moms and kids.
“I can't believe that any of your constituents or mine are waking up in the mornings thinking the most pressing issue is new or expectant mothers having a few extra dollars to feed their babies,” Clancy said.
He also painted a situation where the city of Milwaukee may not be able to offer new hires, including police officers, bonus payments.
Though Clancy mostly chastised Republicans for what he called “sloppy” public policy.
“It is just baseless and cruel,” Clancy added. “This would, as far as I can tell either in the administrative dollars or in defining public dollars, generally take money out of the hands of new mothers and their babies.”
Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, said a ban on local guaranteed income programs is nothing of the sort. He said lawmakers are simply trying to stop local communities from overspending state tax money on things that money was never intended for.
“It's not about ‘good or bad policy,’ right?” Neylon said during Tuesday's hearing. “It's a matter of ‘fair or unfair,’ right?"
Neylon said local guaranteed income programs open the door to allowing local communities to spend state tax money only on the people who voted for local leaders.
He said lawmakers in Madison need to prevent that from happening. He called the Democrat’s attacks on the legislation not “genuine.”
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