“The idea of a basic income was, for decades, something of a policy fantasy. But the last few years have seen it become less outlandish, to the point where we now have many limited basic income programs up and running around the world — perhaps a dry run for a broader embrace of the policy in the coming years.
“The general idea — that the government should give every citizen a regular infusion of free money with no strings attached — has been around since the 16th century. But it’s recently experienced a remarkable resurgence: Advocates ranging from tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg to libertarian economist Milton Friedman to former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang have endorsed it.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has given the idea fresh momentum. With the crisis generating so much financial loss and uncertainty, and with federal stimulus packages failing to meet the needs of millions, advocates are arguing that citizens desperately need some sort of guaranteed income.
“And around the world, countries are running pilot programs to test it.”
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/2/19/21112570/universal-basic-income-ubi-map
