(C) OpenDemocracy This story was originally published by OpenDemocracy and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . UBI in the US ‘not just an idea’ – it’s achievable [1] [] Date: 2024-10 BTS: As an outsider to the US, it’s really remarkable how quickly the movement has taken off. What explains the rapid rise of the guaranteed income movement? Shafeka: I think there are two factors that led to the movement's huge expansion over the last six or seven years. The first is the fact that people can actually easily understand that guaranteed income works. They inherently understand it, because we all have unique circumstances that just a bit of extra cash can support with: for some it’s taking care of their aging parents, for others it’s that broken down car, for others it’s therapy appointments, the dentist, or for the kids to play a sport or get some tutoring. We have so much research to show that people intuitively understand why access to a guaranteed income improves outcomes in so many different areas. The second factor is the pandemic. Here in the US, the pandemic gave way to the greatest experiment for guaranteed income, which was the expanded child tax credit. Through it, a huge proportion of Americans suddenly had access to a bit of extra cash – around $450 a month. And it opened up so many possibilities for people: they started small businesses, and poverty rates for children were at the lowest they’d been in recent history. It showed policymakers that access to just a bit of extra cash really does make a difference. And it opened the floodgates not only for pilots, but for rethinking policy. BTS: It also seems like there has been a pretty strong backlash against the guaranteed income movement in the US. Can you tell us about some of the opposition you’ve faced? Shafeka: That's exactly right. The movement's been so successful – there are pilots taking place in 35 different states – and it’s being run by all sorts of different people: government policy folks, grassroots folks, families, the participants receiving guaranteed income, etc. That’s brought some strong opposition. We’ve seen a really well-funded attack. There are groups of the extremely wealthy – many of them billionaires – who see guaranteed income, and the real choice and flexibility it’s giving people, as a threat to them. For them, guaranteed income means that people have greater freedom to make better choices. Some of those choices include not taking a job that isn't paying a fair wage, or working one good quality job instead of three bad ones. And these folks are getting scared of it, because it threatens to give freedom to an exploited workforce that they rely on. So they’re helicoptering into states and trying to ban guaranteed income through lawsuits and by lobbying for legislation. They’re doing this by having neighbourhoods fear families down the block instead of families coming together to understand that they deserve better. It’s not just guaranteed income that they’re opposing. Many of them also oppose basic labour protections. They're often the ones rolling back civil rights and rolling back access to health care for women. They don't have a movement, but they do have a billionaire-backed set of actors who are trying to dismantle gains for everyday people. You know what though? It's a compliment. It's a compliment that they're doing this because it means the movement isn't being ignored. It's now being seen as something that can actually change the whole economic system for families in the US. And that’s amazing, and that’s also why supporting guaranteed income is more important now than ever before. BTS: What is the guaranteed income movement doing to resist these attacks? Shafeka: These attacks are being resisted all the time in different states. People are coming together to share their stories to each other and to their politicians about what guaranteed income has done for them. People are fighting for policies like the child tax credit, and other policies that remove barriers to economic prosperity. People are doing that all the time, and we’re going to have to keep doing it. We’re seeing people come together from food access, healthcare access, and other movements, because they know that those opposing them are the same actors opposing guaranteed income. This is a movement that comes from the hearts, minds, and values of people. It’s a movement that says that people deserve more than what they have now. I think this movement of people is going to be what takes down this opposition, because people are not taking this lying down. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/ubi-in-the-us-not-just-an-idea-its-achievable/ Published and (C) by OpenDemocracy Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/