Americans feel feverish from the COVID-19 economic crisis. Here’s one way the government can help.
Universal basic income, popularized by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, is not a new concept, but it could be a strong treatment.
With COVID-19 uncertainty ravaging the market, President Donald Trump has been looking into U.B.I. (universal basic income) as a possible solution to what is quickly developing as the worst economic crisis since 2008.
The novel coronavirus has created headaches and hardship for American workers and consumers. States like New Jersey have installed mandatory citizens curfews, closed public schools and reduced non-essential business; others, including Illinois and California, are urging their citizens to shelter in place. As consumers stay home and employers are forced to furlough or let workers go indefinitely, it is likely to feed future unemployment figures which Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin warned could balloon as high as 20%.
U.B.I., which would send every American a check that could range anywhere from $500 to $4,000, could offer the U.S. economy a much-needed influx of cash to deal with one of COVID-19’s biggest symptoms: the financial slump.
The Treasury Department’s current U.B.I.-inspired proposal, backed by Trump, asks Congress for $500 billion in direct payouts for taxpayers. In two $250 billion rounds, checks would be sent on April 6 and on May 18, tailored to individuals based on income level and family size; the first and second payment would be the same amount for the receiver. It’s part of a near $2 trillion package which failed to secure a deal on the House floor Sunday, as Democrats have said they are proposing their own plan which would focus more on unemployment benefits and provide further clarifications on who would be eligible for funding.
Popularized by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, U.B.I. is not a new idea. Figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and founding father Thomas Paine both believed that such a program would have significant merits. Under Yang’s proposal, every American would receive $1,000 a month that they could spend as they pleased. While the idea was dismissed as revolutionary and impossible by many, it is gaining a serious look now by the president and his team. Yang, who confirmed reports that he was working closely with the White House on the plan, may get to see his signature proposal come to life.
And the plan is quickly gaining bipartisan support. New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Republican Senator Mitt Romney and former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard among others have been intrigued by the proposal, offering their own adaptations, in these drastic times.
“Americans need cash now and the president wants to get cash now,” Mnuchin said when proposing the U.B.I.-esque idea. “I mean now, in the next two weeks.”
Checks are one of many economic measures the U.S. is weighing in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has penetrated 176 countries and regions; there are almost 587,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 27,000 deaths as of March 27, according to Johns Hopkins’ Center for Systems Science and Engineering live tracker. In the U.S., there have been close to 98,000 recognized cases across all states and more than 1,500 deaths.
The U.S. became the country with the most overall diagnoses and active cases in the world on March 26, surpassing China and Italy.
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