After the first round of $1,200 stimulus checks in spring of 2020, many Americans supported the idea of universal basic income (UBI)—some just didn't know it yet.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, millions have lost jobs and/or income. People are struggling to make rent, buy groceries, and pay medical bills, not to mention meet the costs of raising children. Some find themselves frantically searching for the best personal loans to stay afloat.
In a time when Americans find themselves divided over nearly everything, one idea seems to bring everyone together: What if the government just, like, gave us money every month?
How can universal basic income help?
The goal of universal basic income, or UBI, is to put money in everybody's pockets as a type of income security, to help people meet their most basic financial needs. By raising the income floor, Americans could also have more freedom in choosing where they want to live and work.
The concept has been around for a while, but it most recently gained traction during Andrew Yang's campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. With Yang's UBI plan, every U.S. citizen 18 and up would get $1,000 per month, no questions asked.
Though Yang's UBI proposal originally had nothing to do with the pandemic and ensuing economic crisis, it makes a lot of sense now, doesn't it?
Where UBI loses most people
Of course, universal basic income has had supporters over the years, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. More recently, figures like Yang, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and tech mogul/real-life Bond villain Elon Musk have taken up the torch.
But UBI has also had its doubters and critics. One of the hottest burning questions surrounding basic income is: How will we pay for it?
A popular answer to this is through a value-added tax, which would be an additional consumption tax on products and services, with exemptions on things like clothing and food. Another solution could be to raise the capital gains and carried interest tax rates, making sure the country's wealthiest are paying their fair share.
According to UBI proponents, there are many ways to help pay for the program, including limiting welfare recipients to receiving either basic income or welfare benefits. However, universal basic income—whatever the program may look like—is extremely expensive and taxes would need to go up in some fashion to pay for it.
There are also two main arguments against UBI. First, many believe that giving money to everyone—especially those who don't need it—could drive up spending and, in turn, cause inflation. Second, if people are getting $1,000 per month, they may have less motivation to work or learn new skills to move up in their careers.
How the perception around UBI is shifting
Before the coronavirus outbreak, UBI may have seemed like a pipedream. In no world, many believed, would the United States government write us a check for simply being.
But then the world changed. Citizens who were hurting financially stopped worrying about what was possible and became open to other types of support. When it came to stimulus checks, lawmakers went from asking, "How will we pay for it?" to demanding, "How can we make it happen?"
First, it was a one-time $1,200 payment. After months of outcry, another $600 went out. In the coming weeks, we expect an additional $1,400.
The point is: change is often incremental. Ideas don't just gain support out of nowhere. The good ones need skeptics to challenge and sharpen them—and the great ideas need to be stress-tested to make the skeptics believers.
If multiple rounds of stimulus checks have proven anything, it's that our test run of UBI has made Americans rethink whether the idea is beneficial, practical, and worth pursuing.
Press Release Service by Newswire.com
Original Source: Coronavirus Stimulus Checks Make a Great Case for Basic Income
