Billionaire cofounder and CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, is to assist a universal basic income (UBI) scheme which will assess whether it can improve the lives of Americans. The experiment, which will cost Dorsey around $3 million, will be carried in cooperation with mayors in over a dozen US cities.
The scheme could involve as many as 7 million people and will take place in cities such as New Jersey, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Jackson. Universal basic income is the idea that individuals should always be guaranteed a minimal income regardless of their life or work circumstances and could possibly replace traditional welfare schemes. Proponents of UBI say that guaranteeing an income for all takes the extreme stress away from those living in poverty and allows them more freedom to find jobs. Many also claim that it takes away the bureaucracy of existing welfare and help to work programs.
UBI has been getting more traction recently as US unemployment reaches near record levels and tens of millions have seen their incomes plummet amid the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Similar schemes have already been carried out across the world with some producing favourable results in terms of happiness levels and job acquisition – the stimulus check program over the previous months was in effect a UBI scheme. These schemes have not however been without their critics.
While conservative commentators have said that it reduces the incentive to find work, and results in an overreliance on the state, some on the left have stated that UBI is nothing but paper over the cracks of a broken system. It could result in an underclass that major corporations and businesses can sack and rehire with ease, and pay lower wages as they know their employees will receive UBI come what may.
Jack Dorsey is believed to be worth around $7.5 billion and is well noted for his philanthropic activity. He has stated, for example, that he will donate $1 billion to the coronavirus relief effort. He is not though the first wealthy individual in the US to embrace UBI. Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur and former Democratic party nominee, has been funding a UBI scheme in New York and made his ‘Freedom Dividend’ scheme central to his run for the presidential nomination. Such a scheme would pay every American $1,000 a month regardless of their income.
Others that have previously spoken in favour of UBI include Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
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