In August 2020, Backbone Campaign collaborator Diane Wittner interviewed Steven Shafarman, author of Our Future: The Basic Income Plan for Peace, Justice, Liberty, Democracy and Personal Dignity.

“As a long-time proponent, Steven is one of the best at connecting universal basic income to democracy and personal dignity . . . UBI, a Freedom Dividend, is our future. This book tells us why.” - Andrew Yang

Steven has been talking and writing about Universal Basic Income (UBI) since the 1980s. UBI became part of the national conversation, thanks to former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. With today's ongoing pandemic, the topic is even more urgent, as our economy halts, job loss is at a historic high, and tens of millions now face housing and food insecurity, with numbers projected to continue climbing.

According to Steven, UBI has these core features: 

• Periodic, not irregular or one-time-only
• Cash, not housing, food, or other in-kind support
• Individuals, because households and families vary
• Universal for adults, perhaps with a smaller amount for children
• Unconditional, no means-testing or work requirements

Due to COVID, people's views about the role of government are shifting. Check out  "Will COVID-19 Change Americans' Views of the Social Safety Net?"  (L.A.Times, 8/12/20).

UBI is part of a suite of solutions for these times. Now is the time to learn about Universal Basic Income from Steven Shafarman. Watch the video above and check out Steven's book.