I recently watched “It’s Basic,” a movie screened by Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway last month at the Madison Arts Center.
The movie covers the topic of Universal Basic Income. Universal Basic Income is financial support offered by a city’s government that gives a standard amount of money to a group of people to meet their basic needs. Those receiving recurring payments do not need pre-qualification. Our own city, Madison, WI, participated in this process, giving $600 to a select group of individuals.
Watching this documentary, I saw the results of this process. And it was beautiful. Repeatedly, when people were met with the opportunity to get an allotted amount of “free” money from the government, they spent it on what they needed most: rent, school fees, childcare, food for their families and diapers. Proponents of Universal Basic Income say that people will “game” the system. Continuously, this has proven not to be true.
In one city, they gave the income to formerly incarcerated people. They gave them $1,000. This income allowed these individuals to get on their feet after prison. They finally had a home, which allowed them to work and build stability in their lives.
As illustrated, Universal Basic Income helps people meet their needs to further build up themselves and their families. Martin Luther King Jr. once called for this income for Americans. In 1967, he said, “The dignity of the individual will flourish when the decisions concerning his life are in his own hands, when he has the assurance that his income is stable and certain, and when he knows he has the means to seek self-improvement.”
Michael D. Tubbs, Mayor of Stockton, California, was the first to call for this basic income. He implemented his program in 2019. Since then, Mayors for a Guaranteed Basic Income has formed, and mayors nationwide are piloting programs to guarantee income to their residents. All over the country, the programs are showing success.
Universal Basic Income helps people and families meet their basic needs. And everyone, everywhere, should have a warm place to sleep and food in their bellies. Universal Basic Income is a starting point to give everyone equal footing in this country when we know due to race and class, we are not starting at the same place in the race. This is a start. And we owe it to ourselves to make a start.