Monday, February 11, 2019

The Next Recession Might Force The US To Do Universal Basic Income



The next recession, which likely will hit before the next presidential election, might force the US to do a Universal Basic Income. The idea will be, every taxpayer gets a basic income (yes, the richest also do) directly from the government, no questions asked. It would likely be a direct deposit that shows up once a month.

Quantitative easing was a gift to the banks post 2008 recession. The Fed was basically printing money, lots of it, and handing it out to the banks at zero interest rates. That meets the definition of free money. Absent a real stimulus, which might have been closer to three trillion dollars, the system resorted to quantitative easing. The Fed did not need congressional approval to do that. It was Fed action. Like raising or lowering interest rates.

The interest rates are already near zero. The Fed does not have much wiggle room. And there is no Big Crisis to justify giving free money to the banks. We The People are an afterthought.

If it happens it will be interesting, because the Fed will introduce UBI (Universal Basic Income) without any presidential initiative or congressional approval. It will change the political paradigm in the country.

What do you think Paul Krugman? Will the next US recession gift us the Universal Basic Income? Is it an idea whose time has come?