Thread by @killedbyproxy

Very interesting that the US is discussing, and Hong Kong is actually doing, direct cash transfers to millions of people to stimulate the economy from below in response to the coronavirus. >> #COVID2019 #BasicIncome

This is exactly how a basic income could work, to "put a floor under the collapsing economy". We will just have to realize that collapses are not an exception but rather a defining feature of a global market economy.

I see basic income as providing a necessary infrastructure that is simply needed just like buildings, roads, communication, water, power supplies and so on in a modern society. No one can persist without an income today.

• "Cash giveaways," suggested Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at independent research firm Capital Economics as a way to boost consumer spending and spark growth. cbsnews.com/amp/news/as-co…

• "[R]apid direct payments to individuals," recommended Josh Bivens, director of research at the liberal Economic Policy Institute. (Link above)

• "Stimulus payments to households," said Jay Shambaugh, director at the centrist Hamilton Project, founded by former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin.

• "Hong Kong’s embattled government unveiled a budget packed with giveaways including a one-time cash handout, as the city struggles to stabilize an economy battered by political unrest and the coronavirus." google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.…

• "The administration of Chief Executive Carrie Lam is seeking to put a floor under the collapsing economy, rolling out the boldest budget in recent years" google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.…