The Time Is Now to Move on Monthly Basic Income in New Jersey
By Brian Burton
Universal Basic Income, a policy by which governments provide regular cash payments to residents regardless of employment status, received particular prominence during the 2020 election cycle and has only continued to gain momentum among voters over time. Programs modeled around this policy have been proposed and piloted in cities across the nation, with the most recent iteration being implemented in Newark, New Jersey. Funded through private donations, city officials are launching a two year experiment with the hope of helping to bridge the wealth gap among its residents.
While laudable on the part of Newark’s municipal government, there are some who argue that the state government is better positioned to implement a more robust, systemic program that could provide deeper insight into what can be effective on a larger scale and eventually serve as a model for other states hoping to enact similar programs. Recent polling further suggests that now is the time to make such bold policy changes: in an April poll of likely voters in New Jersey, Data for Progress found narrow support overall for enacting a monthly basic income across the state (49 percent support vs. 48 percent oppose).
Across population density, we observe that much of this net support is driven by urban voters with 60 percent support, followed by suburban voters and rural voters, with 48 percent and 45 percent support respectively.
In terms of support by race, we see strong majority support for the monthly basic income among voters of color. This support is highest among Black voters, who favor the policy by a 44-point margin (70 percent support vs. 26 percent oppose). We then observe a 27-point margin of support among Latina/o voters, an 11-point margin of support with Asian voters, and 44 percent support among white voters overall. As this pandemic has shown, communities of color have disproportionately borne the brunt of health and economic impacts that this virus has wrought. Whether through higher incidences of infections or through their disproportionate representation among essential workers called to help keep our communities running, these residents have already endured so much while continuing to support their state. It is time that the state government showed the same support for the residents that have helped New Jersey through this and other past crises.
Finally, along partisan lines, the basic monthly income proposal is especially well-received among Democrats, who support it by a margin of nearly 50-points (73 percent support vs. 24 percent oppose). While this policy is less supported among Independent and Republican voters in New Jersey (39 percent and 23 percent support respectively), the decisive majorities held by Democrats in both chambers of the legislature following the 2019 election, combined with their hold of the governorship, demonstrate that voters have given state Democrats an impressively strong mandate to enact bold change throughout New Jersey.
Just as this pandemic has revealed the gaps in our social safety nets, New Jersey voters have revealed their appetite for ambitious policy to address them. The state legislature should act swiftly with this in mind and take this unique opportunity to make bold policy choices that can support countless New Jersey residents and lay the foundation for a stronger, even more resilient state in the future. Enacting a monthly basic income is a perfect first step on this path. It is time for policymakers to step up and make good on their promises to the very voters that handed them this trifecta.
Brian Burton (@Brian_C_Burton) is a senior analyst at Data for Progress.
Methodology
From April 12 to 24, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 2,058 likely voters in New Jersey using SMS and web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±2 percentage points.