Elizabeth Warren Jonathan Drake/Reuters

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she was open to pushing for universal basic income in a Washington Post survey published on Saturday, calling it among the „options to consider“ to ensure the financial well-being of Americans.

„We absolutely must raise wages and strengthen the social safety net so that every American has basic financial security. Universal basic income and universal living wages are options to consider,“ the Democratic presidential candidate told The Washington Post.

The Massachusetts senator previously said in an interview with Vox’s Ezra Klein that many other things to bolster the working class had to be accomplished before the federal government would be in a position to send every American a check they could live on.

Other candidates, like former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, also supported exploring the idea, but the tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang has placed it at the center of his underdog bid for the White House.

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she was open to pushing for universal basic income in a Washington Post survey published on Saturday.

„We absolutely must raise wages and strengthen the social safety net so that every American has basic financial security,“ the Democratic presidential candidate told The Washington Post. „Universal basic income and universal living wages are options to consider.“

Warren later said she believed her proposals for a $15 minimum wage, strengthened unions, and empowered workers in large corporations would be effective in raising wages.

The Massachusetts senator previously said in an interview with Vox’s Ezra Klein that many other things to bolster the middle class had to be accomplished before the federal government would be in a position to send every American a check they could live on.

„I think there’s so much more that we should do before we get there. There’s so much more we should do. Start with the wealth tax. Come on. Start with universal childcare and education, and investment in education from zero on through college,“ Warren said.

She added: „Do the student-loan-debt forgiveness, and that’ll start to close the black-and-white wealth gap. Use my housing plan and attack redlining straight on. Help close the differences between the poorest in this country and the middle class.“

The Warren campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro said in the October Democratic debate that he supported piloting a universal-basic-income program to see whether it helps offset the effect of automation on jobs. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also called it „a good idea,“ though both stopped short of fully endorsing it.

Opposing views

Others, like former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, have come out against it. Sanders instead favors his plan for the federal government to guarantee a job with a $15 minimum wage and health benefits to every American worker who wants one.

„I think most people want to work; they want to be a productive member of society,“ Sanders told The Hill about why he believed his approach was better than universal basic income. „It’s a very deeply engrained feeling that people have.“

However, the tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, another Democratic presidential candidate, has placed universal basic income at the center of his White House bid, contending that it would help Americans better absorb the pain from automation.

He has proposed a $2.8 trillion plan for a „Freedom Dividend“ that would guarantee payments of $1,000 a month — or $12,000 a year — to every US citizen over the age of 18 without any strings attached. He says the plan’s annual $2.8 trillion cost would be covered by a blend of new taxes, including a value-added tax, and savings from lower use of welfare programs and reduced healthcare spending.

A study from the Brookings Institution published earlier this year found that automation threatens a quarter of all US jobs, particularly work that’s related to office administration, transportation, and food preparation.