States are more than capable of carrying out the plan
Pfingst ’22 [Lori Pfingst is Senior Director at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and is a 2018 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow. She has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Washington and served as Research and Policy Director for the Washington State Budget and Policy Center, as well as Assistant Director of Washington KIDS COUNT, 6/1/22, ‘WASHINGTON STATE BASIC INCOME FEASIBILITY STUDY’, https://app.leg.wa.gov/ReportsToTheLegislature/Home/GetPDF?fileName=Universal%20Basic%20Income%20Pilot_de25f1fb-b4b7-4669-9d57-923d94ba4f53.pdf, Washington State Department of Social & Health Services] A.J.
A guaranteed or targeted basic income (GBI), however, is very feasible at the state level. All of the basic income pilots in the U.S. are a variation of GBI and the recent Child Tax Credit issued by the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic is lifted up as a type of basic income model. In general, GBI models can target the populations they serve in two main ways: front-end targeting through some type of means-testing, or back-end targeting through the tax system. 36 The Shriver Law Center recommends states choose one of three strategies to set up a GBI pilot or program: Expand or create a state tax credit. Create a public wealth fund. Create a new program infrastructure. A state pilot is not dependent on choosing a strategic approach for a basic income program. However, policymakers should be mindful of the pros, cons, and tradeoffs of each strategy and how the pilot evaluation can inform strategic direction for a fully realized program. Table 6 summarizes the key similarities and differences between each approach.