Universal Basic Income

As artificial intelligence transforms our economy and threatens millions of jobs, we need bold solutions that provide economic security regardless of employment status. Universal Basic Income ensures every American has a foundation to stand on when technological change pulls the rug out from under them.

The BOOST Act: A Real Solution

Representative Rashida Tlaib introduced the BOOST Act (Building Our Opportunities to Survive and Thrive Act) in November 2025 as part of her Economic Dignity for All Agenda.¹ This legislation would provide $250 per month to all adults aged 19-67, creating a permanent universal basic income for working-age Americans.¹

Unlike means-tested programs that phase out benefits and create bureaucratic hurdles, the BOOST Act ensures every working-age adult receives this foundation of economic security. The program would be funded through a 2.5% tax on adjusted gross income above $30,000 for single filers and $60,000 for joint filers, with these thresholds adjusted annually for inflation.²

Analysis by the People’s Policy Project projects that Tlaib’s complete Economic Dignity for All Agenda—which includes the BOOST Act alongside enhanced child tax credits and senior benefits—would reduce total U.S. poverty by 42% and child poverty by 67%.¹

Why UBI Matters Now

The BOOST Act addresses precisely the economic insecurity that AI displacement threatens to accelerate. As automation eliminates jobs across knowledge work sectors, a guaranteed monthly income provides crucial stability enabling workers to:

• Retrain and pursue education without fear of financial ruin
• Care for family members without sacrificing economic security
• Seek quality employment rather than accepting whatever precarious work remains available
• Start small businesses or pursue entrepreneurial ventures

Representative Tlaib notes that this “regular cash assistance would make a tremendous difference to families teetering on the edge of poverty or struggling to pay their bills”—a description that will apply to millions more workers as AI transforms labor markets.¹

Building on Proven Success

Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman has also repeatedly introduced the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act, most recently in 2025, which would establish a 3-year nationwide pilot program distributing monthly cash payments to participants.³ The pilot would provide payments in amounts equal to fair market rent for a 2-bedroom home in participants’ zip codes.³ While pilot programs prove valuable for gathering evidence, the BOOST Act provides the permanent, universal solution that AI displacement requires.

Evidence from existing pilot programs demonstrates UBI’s effectiveness:

• Research on the largest guaranteed income experiments found that recipients used funds to pay back bills, ensure food security for their families, and experienced significantly less material hardship.⁴
• Employment impacts proved modest—people did not quit working en masse as critics feared, but instead took more flexible jobs enabling better caregiving or invested time in choosing better employment opportunities.⁴
• After 1 year of receiving $500 monthly payments, Minneapolis residents showed measurably improved financial stability, food security, and psychological wellness, with no negative labor supply effects.⁵

A Matter of Basic Fairness

UBI recognizes a fundamental moral truth: AI training relies on humanity’s collective intellectual output, drawing on centuries of human knowledge, creativity, and labor embedded in training data. Workers deserve to share in the economic gains resulting from automation rather than shoulder displacement losses alone.

When AI systems profit from human knowledge while rendering human workers obsolete, basic fairness demands redistribution of those gains. Universal Basic Income ensures that technological progress benefits everyone—not just tech executives and shareholders.

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