Andrew Yang hasn't given up on a Universal Basic Income idea; plans a pilot program

Photo by Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons

Andrew Yang is trying out his UBI idea with 20 residents of Hudson, NY

ASAM NEWS

Andrew Yang’s nonprofit and The Spark of Hudson announced the beginning of a universal basic income (UBI) pilot program to be launched in this year.

Universal basic income was a focal part of Yang’s 2020 presidential campaign, which has been suspended — but the idea still lives on.

Instead of a nationwide approach, it’s being tested in Hudson, New York, with 20 recipients being given $500 a month for the next five years.

“Receiving a form of UBI allows you to begin making meaningful, long-term plans. It allows one to think beyond next month’s bills,” Yang said in a recent statement.

“Through the HudsonUP project, we’re going to see families benefit enormously from receiving $500 a month for five years,” he continued.

Yang’s initial UBI proposal, known during his campaign as “the Freedom Dividend,” promised $1,000 a month to all US citizens over the age of 18. Entrepreneurs such as Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla’s Elon Musk supported the idea, along with Robert Reich and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

The experiment’s 20 recipients have not been identified, according to The New York Daily News. But Yang said in an interview that they will be “low-income residents” of Hudson, which has a 19.2% poverty rate.

Hudson’s mayor applauded the decision.

“In light of the current ongoing crisis, this pilot will give a glimpse of hope to our constituents, many of whom are facing various financial burdens. We welcome out-of-the-box and innovative ideas that can better our communities,” Mayor Kamal Johnson said in a statement. “This pilot will provide a cushion for families, and this support could be life-changing.”

The program, Hudson UP, is a collaborative effort with The Spark of Hudson, an education-centric community center set to launch in Hudson, and Humanity Forward.

Hudson has 6,713 residents, the second-largest in New York’s Columbia County, according to the 2010 Census. The city also has a median household income of $35,439, making the city “ideal” for a control group, according to the groups.

Hudson’s population also has 7.8% Asians, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The PEW Research Center reported that income inequality increased most among Asian Americans since the 1970s, greater than the Black and Hispanic population.

This wealth gap is primarily due to immigration and discriminatory hiring practices, PEW Research Center said.

Meanwhile, Humanity Forward and The Spark of Hudson will contribute $300,000 each towards the project, making the total $600,000, News10 reported.

Yang said Humanity Forward will track how the 20 recipients will spend their UBI, predicting that “people [will] become mentally healthier, more optimistic, more secure in their future” — similar to the federal government’s stimulus check to provide financial aid to people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hudson’s mayor is not the only one who supports the launch.

“We are thrilled that the City of Hudson has been selected for this project,” said Joan Hunt, the executive director of Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood (GHPN).

“UBI provides a unique opportunity for families and communities to begin dismantling the intergenerational cycles of poverty,” she continued. “We look forward to continuing our involvement with this exciting and innovative project.”

Hudson will join Stockton, Calif., which is currently in the middle of a similar UBI 18-month trial: giving $500 a month to 125 people, courtesy of private philanthropy and research group Economic Security Project.

Universal basic income has been tried in several countries, including in the U.S., but they have been “short-lived, small-scale trials” but proved mainly beneficial, improving education and mental health.

Yang "thrilled" Trump administration is considering giving thousands of dollars ito US residents

WIKI COMMONS

Andrew Yang offers his assistance to the White House.

Maybe mainstream media should have taken Andrew Yang a little bit more seriously. 
The Donald Trump administration is pushing to give every adult $2000 in order to jumpstart a quickly slumping economy impacted by the coronavirus.

As the former candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, Yang's main talking point was a proposal to give every adult in the US $1000 every month as a universal basic income, which he dubbed the Freedom Dividend.

“I’m incredibly excited by the fact that our government seems like they’re on the cusp of doing the common sense thing to help people get through this coronavirus crisis by putting cash straight into a family’s hands,” Yang told Time magazine.

He claimed the extra money would be spent by the vast majority of the recipients stimulating the economy, he said, from the bottom up. The "trickle up" economy would be in contrast to the trickle down theory that never worked but loved by Republicans.

In a statement from his newly formed nonprofit Humanity Forward, he offered the White House any assistance in dispensing the stimulus money.

In a Tuesday White House briefing, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the administration was "looking at sending checks to Americans immediately," beginning as early as two weeks from now.

In a rare display of bipartisanship, a group of Republican and Democratic Congressmembers, including Republican Sens. Mitt Romney and Tom Cotton and Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Joe Kennedy III, are introducing legislation to establish an emergency cash stimulus that goes directly to Americans. Some proposals would give up to $6,000 for those who earn less than $65,000.

As sections of the country implement variations of self-quarantines, businesses are being impacted such as restaurants, retail, entertainment, professional sports have shut down. Airlines and the cruise industry have had to cut back on flights and cruises, respectively. Manufacturers such as Ford, GM  and Fiat Chrysler are temporarily shutting down their factories. Employees are losing their jobs or layed off.

The jittery stock market as dropped precipitously this past week. All the gains since Trump took office are gone and shows no signs of rebounding. 

As Trump tried to calm investors, he admitted the US might be headed to a recession. 

As of this morning (March 19), the coronavirus toll continues to climb, approaching 9,000 cases in the US where there have been at least 153 deaths.

Yang told CNN he's "thrilled they're doing the right thing" and that "giving cash into American families' hands is 100% the right move."

"It is vital to help tens of millions of American families to keep their heads above water during this time," Yang said.