Economists project that 42% of the jobs we are losing right now are gone for good. That's
15,000,000 jobs. Gone forever. Never coming back. We're dealing with unprecedented
job loss in America right now rivaled only by the great depression. Before the COVID-19
outbreak in the United States, 78% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck and
57% of Americans couldn’t afford an unexpected $400 bill. The federal reserve projects
COVID-19 job losses to be upwards of 47 million. That's an unemployment rate of 32%.
For reference, the unemployment rate in the U.S. during the great depression was 24.9%
at its peak. In my opinion, now more than ever, America needs to pass a universal basic
income. If the U.S. government won't support giving monthly checks to Americans now,
I fear they never will.
Questions
1. Do you support universal basic income in perpetuity, until the pandemic is over,
or not at all? Why?
2. Do you think the U.S. government will help the people who lost their jobs permanently?
3. What would you do if you were president right now?
Forbes Article
1. Until the pandemic is over, some sort of stopgap measure like this is necessary to avert an even more severe catastrophe. This is not to say that UBI should be permanent, but that giving affected households some form of life support will give them the ability to retrain and such without fear.
ReplyDelete2. It is far too early to say, as who knows what will be the next big topic of contention. Even if the help isn't monetary, it would be surprising if people were left to fend for themselves forever.
3. Panic.
I do not think a universal basic income is fair or necessary, even during this pandemic. Sure, the government should help and assist those in need with their financial troubles; however, my implementing a universal income, it could negatively affect those who are still able to work and make their stable living/income. That being said, again, I do believe that the government should act fast in terms of helping those who have lost their jobs and sources of income, especially because of our current difficult situation and circumstances. I think that maybe not instantly, but eventually, the government will help those people who have lost their jobs permanently, as it would be horrible for the unemployment rate to keep rising, along with the fact that these people need some sort of income to survive, and without a job, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible. If it were me making the decisions (if I were president), it would be difficult in the current state of the country or world for that matter, to make new jobs for these people who have lost their's. However, after all of this chaos starts dying down I would make sure to either create new jobs for those who have been unemployed, or even experiment with the possibility of giving them the jobs back, that they initially had (which were "permanently" lost). In the mean time, things such as stimulus packages or filing for unemployment seem like the most feasible options.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have seen, there have been different proposed trajectories about where universal income will lead us. Some say that it will lead to increased demand, which will fuel the economy and bring it back up again. Others say that it can result in increased inflation. I am leaning toward something like UBI during this pandemic, but afterward, I am not so sure. This pandemic is unlike some other recessions or depressions in that certain jobs are made completely off-limits, such as teacher or personal trainers. I think that an online instruction portal similar to Udemy (but more expansive) might be able to provide more jobs remotely. If I were president right now, I will put more funding into scientific research in regards to immunity and vaccines. There needs to be more gene sequencing being done, and more promotion of the topic in a way that everybody can get involved in finding a cure. The online video game FoldIt is quite interesting because anyone can stumble upon the right way to fold a protein and possibly lead the way to curing a disease.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do think that universal basic income should become a way to help Americans during the pandemic, I do not think it should stay as a permanent way of helping. As for the many Americans that have lost their jobs, I believe the government will eventually help them find new jobs. It is clear that the government is more focused on the economy than public safety, which is very sad, but still, more jobs will eventually be created. If I were the president right now, I would do more actions to keep Americans in their homes, meanwhile, I would keep using the UBI idea to continue helping economically, at least until a new solution is found.
ReplyDeleteI support universal basic income until the pandemic is over. Right now, most of the governmental support has been means-tested or not directed towards individuals, but that has a large problem. For so many, things such as previous income are meaningless when they have lost all of their sources of income due to the pandemic, or live in a high-cost-of-living area, which necessitates a higher income but might not make one wealthier in any meaningful way. Thus, we need our government to provide support in a way that has no means testing, of which universal basic income is the best method. However, once the pandemic is over, since lives can return to normal, there is not as much of a need for that.
ReplyDeleteWhile the government does need to provide those who need it some kind of stimulus checks during times like these where there is mass unemployment and many are struggling to live off not having an income, once things start to open back up and the working world returns to some semblance of normalcy, I don’t think those who are able to return to employment should be getting things like UBI checks. Sure we need to try to increase consumer spending and putting money in people’s pockets right now does this, but I personally think in the long run we should be looking to support businesses because they are the ones that provide the jobs and businesses going bankrupt or shutting down for good is where the permanent job loss stems from.
ReplyDeleteThis being a very unexpected and widespread misfortune, I do think it is important to provide funding for those desperately in need. However, I do believe that it is important to consider that the United States does not have unlimited amounts of money to help everyone while the economy is tanking. With that being said, I do think our massive military budget and other disproportionately funded projects or departments can afford to disperse some of their funds for the betterment of society and America as a whole. This is definitely a very cumbersome situation, and I don’t think anyone has a definite, surefire plan.
ReplyDelete