The founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, has decided to donate $15 million of his own personal fortune to universal basic income programs in the United States. The CEO has long supported the idea of Universal Basic Income, known as UBI.
UBI is the concept that all individuals within a society should be paid a certain small amount each month by the government in order to keep them out of poverty and help boost the local economy. Some advocates even say it should be given to those both in and out of work. They claim that UBI programs are far easier to distribute than means tested welfare or benefits, and that it will be required as businesses rely more on artificial intelligence and automation.
The donation comes as the number of Americans out of work is the highest it has been for generations following the economic fallout of the pandemic. In July of this year, as many as 51 million Americans were out of work and far more had their working-hours cut and saw their incomes fall. As the government’s welfare program winds down later this month 12 million Americans could lose their welfare checks.
Dorsey's donation will go to 30 different cities who are running programs testing out UBI. One of those is the city of Stockton in California. The mayor of the city, Michael Tubbs, said of the program:
"Philanthropy and charity is not justice but in the absence of leadership and action... our constituents need cash relief."
In some cities, such as Pittsburgh, 200 residents will receive $500 a month for the next two years.
The pandemic has caused many national and local governments all over the world to start experimenting with UBI. If it is found to help people get into work and alleviate poverty then it is far more likely to be rolled out on a national basis.
Critics of UBI have said that it will do nothing other than disincentivise people to find real work and they question how such a program can be paid for in the long-run. The critics of the program have not only come from the political right. Many on the political left say that UBI is in effect a simple way for millionaire and billionaire bosses to put masses of people out of work and allow them to still make huge profits, while the government and other tax-payers pick up the bill.
Andrew Yang, who ran against Joe Biden as Democratic party presidential nominee, had advocated UBI as part of his presidential program.
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