Approved ~~ MJM
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed a willingness to look into instituting a universal basic income for the American people, which was the centerpiece of Democrat Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign.
Pelosi pointed out Monday on MSNBC that ‘others have suggested a minimum income, a guaranteed income for people. Is that worthy of attention now? Perhaps so.’
Congress already passed one bill to combat the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic that included cash payments to Americans.
Universal basic income, the way Yang pitched it, would come in the form of $1,000 payments to every American over 18 and would be doled out every month.
On the campaign trail, Yang called the concept the ‘freedom dividend.’
‘There’s nothing stopping us from making it happen. There’s nothing stopping a majority of citizens of a democracy from passing ourselves a dividend,’ Yang pitched to voters at the 2019 Iowa State Fair.
‘Companies do it all the time, every day, and when companies do it, what do we say? Great job, good management,’ Yang pointed out. ‘We are the owners of this country, we can return some of it to ourselves and that’s the only way we’re going to get it back.’
Yang responded positively to Pelosi’s comments.
‘I applaud Speaker Pelosi for publicly endorsing the consideration of a guaranteed income for all Americans,’ Yang said in a statement.
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