Thread by @Philkx2

Why we need an emergency Unconditional Universal Basic Income (UUBI) right now. It should be set at $650 per week emergency UUBI for 12 weeks at least + 50$ per week which is in place for longer and that rate is set by the reserve bank @ScottMorrisonMP @AlboMP #auspol #COVID19Aus

This gives the reserve bank more ammunition to control the economy than just interest rates.

1/ Too many systems are going to need some kind of intervention - income support, mortgages and credit cards, targeted industry support, gig economy workers, renters and landlords, etc.

We have already seen unintended consequences creeping in with for example debtors refusing to continue payment arrangements because they think they "can't be bankrupted during the emergency".
@phbarratt @simonahac @mcannonbrookes

2/ Up to 1/4 of the working age population will be going into some kind of financial stress in the next 7 days. @marshall_steven @stevegeorganas @Senator_Patrick @SenatorWong @Anne_Ruston

3/ The failure of mygov shows we are not ready to deal with entirely predictable sets of circumstances because of the rapidly changing nature of the emergency. Hiring 5000 more Centrelink workers and extending call centre hours will not fix the underlying systemic problems.

4/ We are better off hiring or training 5000 health care workers than cooping up a bunch of people in call centres dong a job that, systems wise, does not have to be done. We have a model to do this from WW2.

We have an organisation that can ramp up the training quickly in association with local TAFE and universities (especially in south Australia) - Defence reserves. Just make sure people are enlisted with waivers that remove the obligation for service out side of Australia.

5/ Economics is as much about confidence as it is about numbers. @abcadelaide @GuardianAus @newmatilda @crikey_news

6/ It takes 40 days to make new habits, It takes 90 days of non contact to loose someone as a client/customer - from a marketing perspective they are now just a new prospect.

During the closedown periods there is going to be a lot of spending substitution and movement of disposable income to say differing subscription and delivery services. The commercial world will look very different at the other end of this and just like after a war.

Spending and social habits will be vastly different afterwards. (eg value of commercial real-estate could markedly drop, people will have found new outlets for their leisure $ and not return to old spending habits afterwards.)

7/ A UUBI will make sure all Australians are protected to some degree regardless of their employment situation or history.

8/ A UUBI has a very low regulatory cost and low economic friction in terms of impact as opposed to trying to jam something extra into existing systems.

9/ It can be rolled out immediately to everyone with a TFN into the bank accounts used for refunds. - Much lower admin burden with far fewer people needing to register or change details.

10/ It will inject an immediate economic stimulus.

11/ It will allow companies to reduce wages or let go workers in line with what's best for the companies without having to defer necessary decisions.

12/ It will give people an opportunity to reskill or reset their employment based on the new realities when we exit this crisis.

13/ Claw back provisions can be worked out over the coming month(s) for workers who earn over the minimum wage or companies who reduce wages - perhaps a HECS like repayment over years - again the rate of which should be controlled by the reserve bank.

14/ It will give the Government and population generally TIME and space to deal with systemic and emergency issues. In effect, it's flattening the curve of economic issues the government has to deal with.

15/ It lets the market decide many issues and the gov then has fewer area it has to intervein in.

16/ The gov can then use the time and space its been given to look at issues like if it needs to ban all private export of goods from Australia, and establishing a register of commercial goods that cannot be exported for the duration (eg Solvents, medical supplies, PPE, etc)

17/ In the meantime, all political donations should be banned until the end of the emergency, Political parties can get their own UBI based on last 4 years average income. All meetings with donors listed in a real-time online registry.

18/ We keep making analogies about war (a subject I have a little professional experience in) - It's normal in dire defensive operations to trade ground (distance) for time. Time that allows you to marshal scarce resources and apply them at the place and time for your choosing.

We need that time to formulate a plan of attack where we can choose the place and time of our choosing for measured and efficient response and a UUBI gives us that time if enacted now!

PS - If its a war lets have proper wartime cabinet. It's not a time for political ideologies, but rather a time for solutions that work, & leave Aus well placed to surge during the recovery. As a South Australian my vote is for the inclusion of @AlboMP and @Senator_Patrick.

@threadreaderapp unroll please

Re private exports - to be very clear, I’m talking commercial quantities, not mailing a package thorough Austpost to mum “back home”

Added 16/ All dealings for politicians, political staffers and executive level PS for pay, allowances, rebates and refunds etc to be handled in the first instance by the same call centres and apps used for contacting centrelink. @samanthamaiden