As of the time of writing, the world is months-deep into a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been several key takeaways from this: that we need to take better care of our environment, that we need to appreciate our friends and families more, and that there has to be a system in place to protect society from economic hardship during a crisis that cost millions of people their jobs, if not their lives.
While this health crisis will pass, the International Monetary Fund now expects the global economy in 2020 to suffer its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Research professor at the University of London Guy Standing believes that it will be impossible to revive the global economy without a universal basic income. “We are going to have some sort of basic income system sooner or later, but I think getting the establishments of many countries to do it is like pulling the proverbial tooth,” he said.
So far, many political parties are pushing for government help to citizens during the time of this crisis, but Standing warns that it will not be enough to only cover people’s expenses for a limited amount of time, as they are less likely to spend the money if they don’t expect to get any more anytime soon - and money not spent spells trouble for the whole economy.
