Is UBI a good approach to current COVID-19 economic decline in the US?

By Kenneth Yang

Fairmont Preparatory Academy

Currently, the pandemic affects people around the world and people who need to work are restricted from being able to gain a stable income to support themselves. The US, in particular Trump, attempts to suddenly open up the economy so business owners can reopen their businesses as a solution to combat the economic recession. However, economists say that the solution to the declining economy is rash and there are other alternatives. Another alternative is implementing the UBI into the current economy. UBI will essentially give a monthly allowance to all people, ignoring income as a whole.

A majority of people responded with negative views of UBI. Eunice Kim, a rising junior at Cypress High School, states, “I don't think that a UBI is necessary, even now. There is a federal paycheck protection program that already went out to support 51.1 million jobs in America. Giving out a UBI on top of this would not only bring upon heavy taxation in an economically hard time, but at the same time people who don’t need the money will be given it. This will encourage people to stop working, and disincentivize people to go back into the economy and stimulate it.” 

Another person expressed the results that implementing a UBI after the pandemic would make the economy worse. Chris Choi, a rising junior at Orange Lutheran High School, states, “I personally think that UBI shouldn’t be implemented because the money that the lower classes might need can go to the upper classes which is unnecessary. Also, because the money can go to the upper classes, I think it can also widen the gap between the rich and poor which can cause more economical problems especially during quarantine when it is harder to find a job.”

Overall, many people do not approve of such a situation, whether it is increasing the income inequality gap or creating a heftier taxation on the people of the US. Although there has been much talk of the negative aspects of UBI, there are also positive outlooks on the issue. The UBI provides a safety net for people to fall upon and have been successful in the past. Countries such as Iran and Mongolia worked out with the UBI plan that was implemented for a short period of time while proposals are still up in the air but promising in countries such as India.

Although countries might be switching towards the UBI, there still has not been enough precedence for us to use this new economic system, especially in a time of crisis. Despite it being an equal and fair system that potentially creates an economic safety net for people to not reach below the poverty line, history shows that the system was not useful for long-term situations and emergency crisis scenarios.