Andrew Yang’s number one policy while he was running for President of The United States was Universal Basic Income. An idea of giving every American Citizen over the age of 18, $1,000 a month – no questions asked. The reason for it? Job loss, depression, and income inequality.

Due to the scary Coronavirus outbreak, right now would be no better time to bring on a plan similar to Yang’s.

“Lower interest rates do nothing for the wage worker losing shifts and tips, for the mom stuck at home looking after her child because the school closed, for the restaurant or theater losing business because people are staying in,” Yang noted yesterday on Twitter. “The only stimulus that would work is #UBIStimulus.”

Apparently I should have been talking about a pandemic instead of automation. — Andrew Yang🧢 (@AndrewYang) March 12, 2020

Jobs are closing. People are losing out on income, if people aren’t able to go to work – how can they make money? They can’t! How can they live? They can’t!

Right now a $1000 per person in the US would cost $330 bn a month. Do it for three months, while economic life is disrupted and you come in right at a trillion dollars. Doesn't solve everything, but would be straightforward and progressive in its impact. — Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) March 12, 2020

We need to issue this $1,000 a month to people as soon as possible. We need to get ahead of the curve before this virus hit’s even more!

Josh Bivens recommends it, as does Jay Shambaugh, the director of the centrist Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution. Jason Furman, formerly the chief economic advisor to President Obama, just called for “a simple one-time payment of $1,000 to every adult who is a U.S. citizen or a taxpaying U.S. resident, and $500 to every child who meets the same criteria,” with automatic triggers to extend the payments if economic conditions worsen.

We petition Congress to immediately fund an emergency #BasicIncome for every adult and child in the US, starting with a stimulus of $1,000 per American adult and $500 per child and a monthly stipend TBD going forward until the #COVID19 crisis has passed.

https://t.co/CP5PbWqgKP pic.twitter.com/gwNmPof8bd — Scott Santens🧢 (@scottsantens) March 9, 2020

AOC even agrees with it:

Right about now would be a great time to weigh emergency measures like:

– Extending Medicare/Medicaid coverage to all

– Eviction freezes

– No-strings UBI programs

– Eliminating work requirements for SNAP &other assistance

– Humanitarian provisions in prisons & decarceral policies — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 12, 2020

This needs to be issued immediately.