America is in crisis. We need universal basic income now | Karl Widerquist | Opinion | ... - 0 views
www.theguardian.com/...cession-universal-basic-income
crisis universal basic income policy economics pandemic
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The more people we have who can afford to stay home the better off we’ll be, at least for the duration of the outbreak.
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After the 2008-2009 economic meltdown, the United States government and governments around the world created trillions of dollars worth of currency out of thin air and injected it into the economy, usually by buying back their own debt, in an effort to stimulate demand and reverse the multiplier effec
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Buying back government debt isn’t necessarily the best way to stimulate the economy, however. The money goes mostly to people who are already rich, and they have very little incentive to invest that money when everyone else is losing income.
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An emergency UBI is just about the best economic stimulator that exists in modern times because it gets money in the hands of everyone. No one’s income would go to zero due to stock market-related layoffs or corona-related precautions
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Congress should act now. An emergency UBI, providing $1,000 per adult and $500 per child, per month, for four months or as long as the outbreak lasts, can help everyone get through this critical time
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We don’t know how bad coronavirus will get. We shouldn’t have to worry about how we will be able to buy food and pay rent as well.
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The economy needs more money and less labor. We need people to spend money. And we don’t need them to work for it.