Category: Basic Income

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As the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic escalates, support is growing for immediate economic relief for the millions of Americans whose lives have been upended. Utah Senator Mitt Romney has proposed sending a one-time infusion of $1,000 to every American adult during the crisis, while Trump Administration officials are also weighing the idea of direct cash payments to Americans.

While one-time “ stimulus checks ” are an option— as they were in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis—many Americans are going to need longer-term support to weather the coming financial storm. Rather than a single shot of […]

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Rutger Bregman wrote the bestselling book Utopia for Realists . And with a coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis looming heavy over the world, he nailed what government intervention should now look like: If there was ever a time to give people a basic income – no strings attached – this is it. After the financial crash of 2008 we had a bail out for the banks. Now we need a bail out for the people, especially the poor. https://t.co/A9peJaXkjV — Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 12, 2020 As The Canary reported in 2019, the UK Labour Party planned to undertake […]

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The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world how interconnected we all are, and how much we need (and depend) on each other. In Canada, it has been heart-warming to see the responses of people who face very little personal risk from the virus nevertheless work together to protect the elderly and other vulnerable members of our communities. The situation has also highlighted that Canadians still place a lot of faith in our government and institutions, and that we are willing to act quickly and collectively to ensure that our health care system does not become overwhelmed.

However, as the borders […]

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President Donald Trump wants to quickly put more money in Americans’ pockets to help soften the economic blow many will face as the coronavirus disrupts life across the nation.

“We don’t want people losing their jobs or not having money to live, when they were doing very well just four weeks ago,” Trump said at a press conference Tuesday. “So we’re going big, and that’s the way it’ll be.”

While the President had been pushing a payroll tax cut, he’s now come around to the idea of sending checks to Americans as part of a massive economic stabilization package. The figure […]

Full Post at www.kabc.com

Is now the time for the UK to trial a temporary Universal Basic Income? YES, says Julian Jessop, an economics fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs.

In normal times, cash payments regardless of individual need would be too expensive, poorly targeted, and distortionary. It is therefore right to use existing means-tested benefits (notably universal credit) as the first line of defence to protect people’s incomes from coronavirus.

But these are not, of course, normal times.Economic activity is collapsing, mainly because we actually want some people to stop doing what they would normally do. Self-isolation is not a credible strategy […]

Full Post at www.cityam.com

NEW YORK — Out of work or sick because of the coronavirus pandemic? Here are the resources available and what’s being considered:

FEDERALLY:

The Coronavirus Response Act is currently being considered by the Senate, having been passed by the House. It includes $1 billion nationwide: half is to beef up the administrative process of states processing unemployment claims. The other half is for emergency unemployment grants in states experiencing more than 10% unemployment.The Trump administration acknowledged unemployment likely will not be enough.President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Americans and businesses may soon be getting checks in the mail from […]

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Democratic presidential candidate entrepreneur Andrew Yang speaks at the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum during a campaign event, in Mason City, Iowa. Mandatory Credit: Photo by John Locher/AP/Shutterstock (10532388f) Democratic presidential candidate entrepreneur Andrew Yang speaks at the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum during a campaign event, in Mason City, Iowa Election 2020 Andrew Yang, Mason City, USA – 21 Jan 2020 In an interview with Rolling Stone, Yang says he’s spoken with Democratic leaders about a basic income plan to respond to the new coronavirus pandemic

WASHINGTON — Andrew Yang has dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary, […]

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Yang said he had "been in touch" with the White House and said his team was "eager to offer our support to make sure this process runs as smoothly as possible."

Yang’s 2020 presidential campaign help popularize a universal basic income program he called The Freedom Dividend, which would give every American adult $1,000 a month, no strings attached.

Former presidential contender Andrew Yang has been in contact with the White House about designing a plan to give Americans direct cash assistance as the novel coronavirus COVID-19 clobbers the US economy.Yang rose up from a little-known fringe […]

Full Post at www.pulse.ng

Republicans in Congress aren’t happy that the bills being forward by Democrats aren’t going far enough to help the American public. Mitt Romney says that we need to institute an emergency UBI program while Democrats say that the program needs to be means-tested so that we don’t give money to people who don’t need it. Tom Cotton is criticizing Nancy Pelosi for not doing enough to help people get paid sick leave. This virus has turned the country upside down, and things are starting to look unrecognizable in DC, as Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains. Transcript:

*This transcript […]

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The former presidential candidate pushed for basic income during his campaign, a plan that would provide Americans with $1000 a month.

Supporters of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang are singing his praises after it was reported that the Trump administration will seek to send cash payments directly to Americans due to the coronavirus.

Yang isn’t tooting his own horn. Instead, the former presidential hopeful has offered his own resources to the White House in an effort to spread the pros of basic income.“I am pleased to see the White House adopt our vision of putting money directly into the hands of […]

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