by Peter Knight

 

We hope you had a chance to rest and spend some meaningful time with family and friends over the past weeks. As the year draws to a close and the weather gets colder, the conversation surrounding basic income has started to heat up across the world.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s Economic Dignity for All Agendahas created quite the buzz in the national conversation. This agenda consists of 3 acts: The BOOST Act, The Baby Bonus Act, and The End Child Poverty Act. Respectively, these acts would provide every person ages 19-67 with $250/month, provide parents with a one-time payment of $2,000 at the birth of their child, and provide every child with a $458/month basic income.

This agenda would be the first national commitment to basic income. Reminder! You can (and should!) send a letter to your Congresspeople EVERY WEEK, urging them to support this agenda during the 2026 legislative cycle! Make sure they hear from you regularly on this issue.

Basic Income Becoming a Permanent Reality

This year, there has been immense growth in basic income programs across many parts of the world. Recently, a couple of these have have crossed the line into permanancy, making basic income a permanent reality for many.

Permanent Basic Income In the Marshall Islands

 

This year, we have seen a rise in basic income policies, some new to the landscape, others that moved from pilot status into permanency. Basic income is now a long term reality for thousands of people across the globe. Let’s check out a few of these!

The Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands government implemented the ENRA program. This permanent program gives every person living in the Republic $200 every 3 months, a total of $800 a year, per person. The government funneled these funds into a basic income program, making sure each person has their basic needs met, but they realized not everyone’s situation is the same.

The government then also created programs to further assist those in need—bolstering the amount provided for those in need of additional food and housing support. These focus on elderly people, people with disabilities, and families with children 0-5.

Ireland’s Permanent Basic Income for Artist

In 2022, Ireland created a 3-year program providing some artists in that country with a basic income. This program sprouted from the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 had on artists’ income in Ireland. The program garnered so much popularity and positive results that the government decided to make it permanent in 2026! The 2,000 selected artists will be provided with $1,500 a month through weekly payments of $375.

These programs are an immense step forward for the global movement for basic income, and bring hope to the national movement. These programs will be creating guideposts for how we could implement these strategies as we scale larger programs and focus on recognizing inequalities that affect specific demographics here in the United States.

The Steps Towards Permanency in the United States

We have also made progress on permanency in the United States, with the expansion of multiple programs! Let’s check out a couple of promising new developments.

Rx Kids Expansion in Michigan

This basic income program was started in 2024 in Flint, Michigan, to provide families with no-strings-attached money to support the growth of their children in their first year. The program was implemented to explore how to reimagine the role of government in supporting families. This year, Michigan officials decided to expand the program to more counties, including …. [list them here] so that now thousands of new Michigan families will receive this critically important basic income.

Cook County Guaranteed Income Extended

Starting in 2022, Cook County provided 3,250 of their households with $500 / month checks, no-string-attached. Recently, local officials announced that the program had been extended into 2026 with $7.5 million set aside to fund this extension. With the current state of our country at the hands of the administration, these programs are what is helping thousands of families survive during the latest fiascos with SNAP access and more.

As we approach the end of 2025, we are heartened to see this important momentum grow for long-term direct cash policies across the globe. This progress and these wins are in a large part due to the amazing work that you and the rest of this thriving movement have continued to prioritize over the past months and years.

Thank you for continuing to fight for a world with an economy that works for everyone, not just the few. Together, we can make 2026 the most impactful year of our movement.

In community,

The Income Movement Team