Pope Francis is advocating for universal basic income.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the Pope has sent out an Easter letter to various social movements and organizations around the world. Within, the Pope explains why UBI may be the right decision: “This may be the time to consider a universal basic wage which would acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks you carry out,” he says. “It would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal, at once so human and so Christian, of no worker without rights.”
“Street vendors, recyclers, carnies, small farmers, construction workers, dressmakers, the different kinds of caregivers: you who are informal, working on your own or in the grassroots economy, you have no steady income to get you through this hard time ... and the lockdowns are becoming unbearable,” he wrote.
The United States is giving out $1,200 checks as part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package; however, this is currently a one-time payment. The Internal Revenue Service reported that the first wave of checks was sent out Saturday.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, former U.S. Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang ran his campaign on a platform that heavily emphasized the importance of a universal basic income.
[Via]