A couple counting money. Universal basic income lets people bridge periods out of work or in bad jobs so they can invest in their own skills and re-enter the workforce at a higher level. Getty Images
A couple counting money. Universal basic income lets people bridge periods out of work or in bad jobs so they can invest in their own skills and re-enter the workforce at a higher level. Getty Images
A couple counting money. Universal basic income lets people bridge periods out of work or in bad jobs so they can invest in their own skills and re-enter the workforce at a higher level. Getty Images
It might feel like 10 years, rather than 10 months ago, but cast your mind back to January of this year and the campaign message from the White House was fairly straightforward: the economy is in great shape, the markets are booming, Donald Trump is the right man to carry America forward.
Now, just two days before the presidential election, as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates once more, that message rings hollow. In the absence of renewed financial aid, most Americans are far more worried about paying household bills than managing stock portfolios.
Ironically, Covid-19 aside, market analysts are sanguine about whatever eventual election outcome presents itself. Another four years of Mr Trump could theoretically bring further tax cuts and maybe more deregulation; while even the Wall Street Journal has warmed to the idea of a moderate Joe Biden presidency, bringing stability and spending to the economy, even if coupled with higher taxes for the nation's wealthiest.
The 2020 US presidential election has certainly had some memorable moments. AFP
Whichever candidate takes up office on January 20, the far more pressing issue is how to support the millions of Americans who have fallen through the widening cracks in the US economy.
Frustration at the impasse on Capitol Hill over a stimulus package is clear. Almost 130,000 people liked a recent Tweet by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, which read: "Imagine having the power to ease the suffering of millions and failing to use it."
So much is at stake in these talks for millions of struggling Americans in the short term; yet there is also increasing consensus that it’s time for more radical, longer-term solutions.
Even before the pandemic, an estimated 63 per cent of America’s households were unable to cut a $500 cheque. Record employment numbers masked record income inequality, and close to half the US workforce was employed in jobs with a mean annual pay of under $20,000 a year.
Among the proposals in the current conversation around stimulus is something Mr Yang championed in his own presidential campaign, the notion of a Universal Basic Income (UBI). Senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act calls for $2,000 per month payments to most US residents during the pandemic and beyond.
At first glance, this feels utterly alien to America, a country built on go-getting capitalism, with a historic tolerance of work with neither contracts nor benefits. But a Hill-HarrisX poll in August revealed that 55 per cent of registered voters support the idea.
Michael Tubbs, the 30-year-old mayor of Stockton, California, has taken this theoretical support a step further. His city is extending a pioneering experiment with UBI: 125 residents are getting $500 a month in cash with no strings attached.
Mr Tubbs first ran for City Council office four years ago, when the then-bankrupt Stockton was, in his words, “the most miserable city". It is, he told me, “ground zero” for American life. “We are the most diverse city in this country, but we also have some real structural challenges.”
Michael Tubbs, the mayor of Stockton, California has been successful in implementing a UBI programme. AFP
Stockton’s grim statistics, Mr Tubbs said, gave him the courage to try to do things differently, and it seems to be working. “We saw in 2018 and 2019, a 40 per cent reduction in homicides. We now give scholarships to every student who graduates from the largest school district, we have the Stockton Scholars Programme. We are piloting basic income. We are now the second most fiscally healthy city,” he added.
The Stockton experiment highlights the appeal of UBI for many Americans. Crucially, it’s about income, rather than longer-term wealth; stability as a platform for betterment.
“Research suggests that kids who have more money, whose parents aren't economically anxious, who grew up in more stable environments, not surprisingly, do better in school,” Tubbs said. “It's not because the kids are inherently smarter or inherently more hard-working, it is because those kids are in the more stable environment.”
Mr Tubbs believes that the federal government must make guaranteed income a long-term policy. “The sum total of our pandemic response has been one-time stimulus cheques and then unemployment insurance, which was a bold, radical idea – in 1935,” he said. “We have to have a social safety net that's reflective of 2020 realities.”
The 2020 realities may, hopefully at least, be unique and short-lived. But the notion that UBI or a living wage could help solve some of America’s most stubborn problems is gaining credibility. Perhaps it’s time for the next occupant of the White House to consider it.
Julia Chatterley anchors the CNN International show, First Move, which airs Monday-Friday at 6pm
Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE) TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
Gulf Men's League final
Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Q&A with Dash Berlin
Welcome back. What was it like to return to RAK and to play for fans out here again?
It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the passionate UAE again. Seeing the fans having a great time that is what it’s all about.
You're currently touring the globe as part of your Legends of the Feels Tour. How important is it to you to include the Middle East in the schedule?
The tour is doing really well and is extensive and intensive at the same time travelling all over the globe. My Middle Eastern fans are very dear to me, it’s good to be back.
You mix tracks that people know and love, but you also have a visually impressive set too (graphics etc). Is that the secret recipe to Dash Berlin's live gigs?
People enjoying the combination of the music and visuals are the key factor in the success of the Legends Of The Feel tour 2018.
Have you had some time to explore Ras al Khaimah too? If so, what have you been up to?
Coming fresh out of Las Vegas where I continue my 7th annual year DJ residency at Marquee, I decided it was a perfect moment to catch some sun rays and enjoy the warm hospitality of Bab Al Bahr.
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69') Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
UAE v Oman - abandoned
Oman v Namibia - abandoned
