What is BIG?
BIG stands for “basic income guarantee” and it refers to a government-initiated program for social security, especially intended for people that are poor and live below the poverty line. The main concept of this program is the provision of some form of regular income to citizens covered under this program. This income represents a standard value of what is considered the minimal amount by a particular government from which a citizen can have a decent way of life. This is one government program that is considered an effective solution to the basic problem of poverty. Proponents and supporters of this program believe that allocation of BIG to improve poverty statistics could be done even without raising tax rates. Governments may opt to restructure some funding for spending programs and allocate some budget for the BIG program. Other governments meanwhile are sometimes forced to impose more taxes or increase existing taxes to generate funding for this project. Taxes collected for the BIG program may be from property, luxury items, land, sales, lottery, tariffs, and capital gains.

In the US, it is called the US BIG program and this program guarantees that all US citizens are entitled to such benefit. There is no means test involved in the implementation of this program and this simply means that whether a person is rich or poor, he/she can be supported with BIG. This program also covers every citizen regardless of work status but those who are willing to render community service may be given additional incentives. This implementation system allows for citizen autonomy even if much of their income is subsidized by the government. This program specifically benefits those who are living with very low incomes, those with no jobs and no homes, and single parents.

Although the BIG program is aimed at improving the lives of citizens living in poverty, there also many people who criticize its implementation. Some argue that raising some taxes is not and should not be the funding source for these programs and that governments should find other budget restructuring means to implement it.