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Monthly update for September 2020
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Citizen's Income Trust

As Covid impact grows so does support for UBI

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September has seen a resurgence of coronavirus cases in Europe. In the UK, this has meant the re-imposition of restrictions at regional level, in the hope of slowing down the spread of the disease.

Calls for more government help have followed, as the original measures (in particular the furlough scheme) wind down and the economic impact continues to be felt. The Government's response this time round has been less generous than last time and has led to similar criticism that entire sections of the population have been left out.

In this context it seems perhaps unsurprising that support for Universal Basic Income continues to grow at all levels (see below). A regular payment to every individual, no questions asked, no strings attached, that ensures that everyone has a floor of financial security below which they cannot fall.

We know it is affordable with minimal tax increases because we have done the numbers. As the coronavirus impact gets deeper and longer-lasting, calls UBI become more urgent and loud.
In September the Liberal Democrats made it party policy to support UBI. They become the largest UK national party to support Basic Income (they got 11% of the vote at the last general election).

The party said: "Coronavirus has shown us just how fragile our system is, and how easily it can fail people. From shielding people from another global crisis to rewarding informal caring, we need a system which prioritises social and economic resilience for individuals and for our country. UBI is a huge step towards the fairer society we, as liberals, should champion".

Also last month, the Welsh assembly (the Senned) passed a motion calling for the Welsh government to run a Basic Income trial in Wales.

At the local level, last month also brought news of another city council backing a Basic Income trial. This time it was Leeds, where votes from Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens got the motion through. It is the largest UK council so far to call for Basic Income. 
 
On the left of the political spectrum a long-running debate about the merits of Universal Basic Income versus Universal Basic Services continues.
Anna Coote wrote this piece on Labour List about why new Labour leader Keir Starmer was right not to back UBI.

This prompted a response from the Chair of the Citizens Basic Income Trust, Annie Miller, who says it is time he did.

It also prompted Patrick Hurley to reply over at Basic Income today.
 
September saw the launch of GoodDollar, a Basic Income cryptocurrency. Yes, a digital coin that you can claim just for being a human. You can get it now if you want by visiting their site.
If you want to know more about the intersection of digital currencies and Basic Income, read our primer here.
 
Here are some things to read this month:

Could rolling out Basic Income exacerbate the housing crisis? Not if you follow this recipe, argues Malcolm Henry of the Centre for Welfare Reform.

Andrew Yang on 2020, UBI, and fixing government, by Ezra Klein on Basic Income Today

Motherhood, Lockdown and Basic Income, by Erin Hill on the UBI Lab Network blog

How a basic income experiment helped these Kenyans weather the Covid-19 crisis (Vox.com)

Enjoy!
Resources on Coronavirus and Basic Income debate
Click here to download the introductory booklet on Citizens Income
Donate to support the Citizen's Basic Income Trust
Copyright © Citizen's Basic Income Trust, 2020. All rights reserved.
The Citizen's Basic Income Trust is a registered charity, no. 1171533
Our mailing address is: info@citizensincome.org






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