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A sign warns residents to take steps to contol the coronavirus outbreak at the entrance to the Manhattan Bridge in Brooklyn on March 19, 2020 in New York City. (Photo: Victor J. Blue/Getty Images)
A majority of Americans--including over half of Republican respondents--support a monthly $2,000 universal basic income check to help defray the effects of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak on the U.S. economy, according to new polling from Data for Progress and the Justice Collaborative Institute.
A wealth tax proved most popular among all respondents in a follow-up question presenting options for paying for the universal basic income (UBI) policy.
"UBI and taxing the rich: two ideas whose time has come," tweeted historian Rutger Bregman.
According to The Appeal reporting on the results:
Our polling found that 68% of the public prefers receiving a pre-loaded debit card to a deduction on next year's income tax. This includes a majority of both Democrats (73%) and Republicans (65%).
[...]
Imposing a wealth tax (42%) was supported the most from the public, followed by adding to the deficit (35%) and then by using new currency (24%). Republicans preferred adding the deficit the most (42%) and Democrats preferred the wealth tax the most (50%).
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who has been at the forefront of efforts to provide UBI to everyone in the U.S. during the pandemic, said on Twitter that the polling reflects a changing national mood on the benefit.
"A majority of Americans know what I've been saying from the start of this: one-time payments to a portion of the population simply aren't enough to get us through this crisis," tweeted Tlaib.
Tlaib introduced with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) the Automatic BOOST to Communities (ABC) Act on Thursday.
The bill would provide "a $2,000 payment using BOOST debit cards to every person in America as critical relief during the COVID-19 crisis, followed by $1,000 recurring monthly payments for one year after the end of the crisis to help our country and families recover."
"The ABC Act provides immediate relief to those in need--regardless of their immigration status--and ensures that relief lasts the duration of the pandemic," Jayapal said in a statement. "We're in an unprecedented public health and economic crisis and the American people desperately need Congress to take this bold action."
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
A majority of Americans--including over half of Republican respondents--support a monthly $2,000 universal basic income check to help defray the effects of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak on the U.S. economy, according to new polling from Data for Progress and the Justice Collaborative Institute.
A wealth tax proved most popular among all respondents in a follow-up question presenting options for paying for the universal basic income (UBI) policy.
"UBI and taxing the rich: two ideas whose time has come," tweeted historian Rutger Bregman.
According to The Appeal reporting on the results:
Our polling found that 68% of the public prefers receiving a pre-loaded debit card to a deduction on next year's income tax. This includes a majority of both Democrats (73%) and Republicans (65%).
[...]
Imposing a wealth tax (42%) was supported the most from the public, followed by adding to the deficit (35%) and then by using new currency (24%). Republicans preferred adding the deficit the most (42%) and Democrats preferred the wealth tax the most (50%).
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who has been at the forefront of efforts to provide UBI to everyone in the U.S. during the pandemic, said on Twitter that the polling reflects a changing national mood on the benefit.
"A majority of Americans know what I've been saying from the start of this: one-time payments to a portion of the population simply aren't enough to get us through this crisis," tweeted Tlaib.
Tlaib introduced with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) the Automatic BOOST to Communities (ABC) Act on Thursday.
The bill would provide "a $2,000 payment using BOOST debit cards to every person in America as critical relief during the COVID-19 crisis, followed by $1,000 recurring monthly payments for one year after the end of the crisis to help our country and families recover."
"The ABC Act provides immediate relief to those in need--regardless of their immigration status--and ensures that relief lasts the duration of the pandemic," Jayapal said in a statement. "We're in an unprecedented public health and economic crisis and the American people desperately need Congress to take this bold action."
A majority of Americans--including over half of Republican respondents--support a monthly $2,000 universal basic income check to help defray the effects of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak on the U.S. economy, according to new polling from Data for Progress and the Justice Collaborative Institute.
A wealth tax proved most popular among all respondents in a follow-up question presenting options for paying for the universal basic income (UBI) policy.
"UBI and taxing the rich: two ideas whose time has come," tweeted historian Rutger Bregman.
According to The Appeal reporting on the results:
Our polling found that 68% of the public prefers receiving a pre-loaded debit card to a deduction on next year's income tax. This includes a majority of both Democrats (73%) and Republicans (65%).
[...]
Imposing a wealth tax (42%) was supported the most from the public, followed by adding to the deficit (35%) and then by using new currency (24%). Republicans preferred adding the deficit the most (42%) and Democrats preferred the wealth tax the most (50%).
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who has been at the forefront of efforts to provide UBI to everyone in the U.S. during the pandemic, said on Twitter that the polling reflects a changing national mood on the benefit.
"A majority of Americans know what I've been saying from the start of this: one-time payments to a portion of the population simply aren't enough to get us through this crisis," tweeted Tlaib.
Tlaib introduced with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) the Automatic BOOST to Communities (ABC) Act on Thursday.
The bill would provide "a $2,000 payment using BOOST debit cards to every person in America as critical relief during the COVID-19 crisis, followed by $1,000 recurring monthly payments for one year after the end of the crisis to help our country and families recover."
"The ABC Act provides immediate relief to those in need--regardless of their immigration status--and ensures that relief lasts the duration of the pandemic," Jayapal said in a statement. "We're in an unprecedented public health and economic crisis and the American people desperately need Congress to take this bold action."