Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for new economic responses to the spread of the coronavirus in the United States, including universal basic income.
“This is not the time for half measures. We need to take dramatic action now to stave off the worst public health & economic affects,” the New York Democrat tweeted on Thursday morning. “That includes making moves on paid leave, debt relief, waiving work req’s, guaranteeing healthcare, UBI, detention relief (pretrial, elderly, imm).”
This is not the time for half measures.
We need to take dramatic action now to stave off the worst public health & economic affects.
That includes making moves on paid leave, debt relief, waiving work req’s, guaranteeing healthcare, UBI, detention relief(pretrial, elderly, imm)
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 12, 2020
The freshman congresswoman’s message was a follow-up to a proposal she made on Wednesday night, which included “no-strings UBI programs” and universal healthcare.
“Some are taking [sic] about unemployment insurance, & while good it’s not nearly enough. There are enormous sectors of our economy (tipped workers, freelance, shift workers) who may not be ‘unemployed’ but whose lives are still dramatically disrupted to the point of eviction, etc,” she added.
Right about now would be a great time to weigh emergency measures like:
– Extending Medicare/Medicaid coverage to all
– Eviction freezes
– No-strings UBI programs
– Eliminating work requirements for SNAP &other assistance
– Humanitarian provisions in prisons & decarceral policies— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 12, 2020
Some are taking about ⬆️unemployment insurance, & while good it’s not nearly enough. There are enormous sectors of our economy (tipped workers, freelance, shift workers) who may not be “unemployed” but whose lives are still dramatically disrupted to the point of eviction, etc
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 12, 2020
President Trump announced a new set of initiatives the administration would take on Wednesday, including a 30-day travel ban from all European countries, with the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland, as nations such as Italy struggle to limit the virus’s spread. His announcement came after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic.
Other new proposals include a payroll tax cut, low-interest loans to businesses within areas affected by the pandemic to counter economic disruption, deferred tax payments without penalties to affected businesses, and an $8 billion congressional plan to finance countermeasures.
House Democrats also unveiled a 124-page spending measure to address the pandemic and are expected to vote on the package, which includes a food stamps expansion and paid sick leave, on Thursday.
COVID-19 cases have appeared on every continent except Antarctica since the virus first appeared in Wuhan, China, last year. Worldwide, nearly 128,000 people have tested positive for the virus, and it has killed at least 4,717 people. In the U.S., more than 1,300 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and at least 35 patients have died.
