UBI - Universal Basic Income is demanded!
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, apart from the human loss, a massive negative effect on the worldwide economy is expected. Factories, schools, and lots of businesses have shut down. Recently, a few politicians and even Pope Francis agreed that the UBI (universal basic income) could be the solution against the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus lockdown. But, what is the UBI?
Universal basic income, or UBI, means that everyone gets a set monthly income, without having to work for it. The idea of a state-run basic income is not new. It dates back to the early 16th century when Sir Thomas More's Utopia described a society in which every person receives a guaranteed income. Currently, there are several countries where UBI projects have already been launched, but it has not provided positive results in all of them.
Finland, for example, has become the first country of the EU to start paying jobless people a certain amount of money, but, unfortunately, that did not lead them to find work afterwards. In Western Kenya, adults are being given $22 a month for 12 years, until 2028. In Italy, the government is working on introducing a ¨citizens´income¨. In Spain, a "minimum vital income" will be approved in May and be sent to nearly 100,000 vulnerable single-parent households. However, we should know that a "minimum vital income" is not the same as a universal basic income, which is granted without any conditions to every citizen.
One of the benefits of introducing the UBI is that it can raise people´s living standards because it is aimed at eradicating poverty. What´s more, workers could afford to wait for a better job or better wages.
To sum up, I strongly believe that a Universal Basic Income is needed more than ever! The introduction of an emergency Universal Basic Income could provide some financial security for people and it would help reduce the effects of the expected economical crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario