Basic Income Candidate Interview 1: Heidi Briones, OR-1 (D)

This is the first of a series of interviews with Congressional Candidates who support UBI. These interviews are done via Email, and their answers are published exactly as they write them.

The Candidate’s answers are bolded and marked with their initials (HB), while my questions and other additions are italicized and marked with my initials (WS).

Heidi Briones is runnning as a democrat in OR-1. In addition to UBI, her platform includes Universal Healthcare, Democracy Reform, Drug Reform, and the insistence that the “Green New Deal” includes UBI.

WS: When and from where did you first hear about UBI?

HB: I first heard Elon Musk mention it briefly and I found instances of Mark Zuckerberg and Obama mentioning it in speeches. This was probably around 2017 from what I recall. Then I was working at Tesla’s factory and I saw it first hand. I saw robots making battery modules and delivering materials and it all connected for me.

WS: Musk endorsed Yang back in 2019 and called UBI “obviously needed”.

WS: Were you immediately on board?

HB: I definitely was immediately on board. I just didn’t think it would happen anytime soon. I thought it was fringe concept. Until I dug a little more deeply into it and I realize it had been piloted several times with excellent results.

WS: If yes, what about your life experiences or ideology made you more likely to accept this idea, which many consider far outside the mainstream?

HB: I’m an optimist and a futurist who believes in abundance. In general, I love concepts that allow humans to live a more human life. I think work is often inhumane and harms humans more than it helps.

WS: One of my favorite Yang quotes: Some people call me a futurist. I’d say I’m a present-ist. It’s just that the other politicians are stuck in the past.

WS: I think one of the reasons why that reclassification hits home for me is because automation and economic security aren’t waiting in some far-off utopia. They’re here now. It’s why Trump is President, it’s why this pandemic is hitting us so hard economically, and it’s the root of a million other problems. The fact that politicians like Yang and Briones have a plan to address a present threat shouldn’t make them futurists, it should make them pragmatists.

WS: What are some downstream positive externalities of UBI that you don’t see talked about much?

HB: All of the beautiful art that would be created! All of the music that we could all listen to. The implications for mental health when people don’t spend time worrying about money anymore. The environmental impact when people don’t have to drive to get to a job anymore. Overall, the feeling of wellbeing in society and moving us to love each other more and not compete for scarce resources. Abundance!

WS: Poverty drives down IQ by 13 points. UBI would open up so much more mental real estate in millions of people who have been forced to devote that mental bandwidth to surviving.

WS: Why do you support UBI over a Federal Job Guarantee?

HB: I’m okay with a FJG if we first have universal basic income. FJG doesn’t recognize that not everyone should need to have a job to simply survive. Not everyone wants to work for the government and they should have the choice not to.

WS: What has this crisis illuminated for you with regard to the need for UBI?

HB: We’re always one global crisis away from a recession or depression because our economy is fragile. It’s cemented how important UBI will be to implement as soon as possible. It’s good that more people are talking about it now and the overton window has shifted.

WS: More than anything, this crisis has illuminated many of the issues that already lay ‘dormant’ in society. Though, they were only dormant for the elite in power.

WS: Are there any proposals for handling the current crisis that you endorse? Do you have your own?

HB: I like the proposal of $2000/k per adult and $500/child each month for the rest of the year or as long as this goes on.

WS: What would you say to people who endorse UBI as an emergency measure for the pandemic, but don’t believe it should be implemented in ‘normal’ times?

HB: I’d say that normal times don’t exist anymore. We will be faced with more pandemics, more job loss, and more changes to the economy. If we are proactive and UBI in place before these things happen then we won’t need to waste time and money trying to come up with complicated emergency measures. People will already be secure.

WS: We haven’t had normal times for a long while.

WS: How do you think UBI would specifically help Oregon?

HB: In district 1 alone, we had 10% unemployment before the pandemic. We have rural towns that would be energized and invigorated by putting millions into their economy each money. It would life-changing for the homeless population and those who serve them. It would help people in all walks of life and transitionary periods. It would help the tens of thousands of people who work in call centers, retail, the gig economy, and food service. It would help single moms and artists to create more. It would help students trying to make ends meet to focus more on their studies. It’s a win/win for the entire state and country.

You can check out Heidi’s website and Twitter for more info.