The populist revolution responding to the coronavirus has been spearheaded by none other than Mitt Romney. The Utah senator embraced a $1,000 cash bailout to every adult in the country, to both help induce consumer demand among middle- and upper-income earners and help the basic bottom line for those who cannot make immediate bills.

Though his payment would be a one-time payment, it echoes the idea of universal basic income, which has been in the news thanks to its prominence in Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign. It is especially compelling during a time of pandemic precisely because it is simple. By forgoing means testing, the overhead and time required to distribute a UBI is limited, a necessary feat of any cash infusion meant to prevent evictions and starvation.