Jack Dorsey Donates $3 Million to “Universal Basic Income” an Initiative Guaranteeing Basic Annual Salary to all Americans

Jack Dorsey recently donated $3 million to a coalition that supports and promotes Universal Basic Income. The organization is called Mayors for Guaranteed Income, a network that believes there should be an income floor for all Americans, an idea known as Universal Basic Income (UBI).

Dorsey, the billionaire co-founder of Twitter, announced his decision in a tweet, “This is one tool to close the wealth and income gap, level systemic race and gender inequalities, and create economic security for families.” Stockton California Mayor Michael Tubbs is the leader of the coalition that Dorsey donated to. He leads the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, the first government-led guaranteed income initiative.

Tubbs said in an interview of UBI, “This is how we build prosperity and build wealth and create opportunity for certain groups of people. We know, given the history of this country, that people of color and in particular Black people have historically been excluded from all the ways that the government has provided, not a handout but really a hand up.”

UBI proponents argue that the coronavirus has exacerbated income inequality, and has disproportionately affected Black and Brown Americans. Dr. Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. agrees with Tubbs and believes that UBI could help affect the racial wealth gap. “I’m seriously concerned about where we are in terms [economic inequality] the Black community,” King said. “The numbers economically have not changed since 1968. The wealth gap — it’s basically the same.”

Watch former Presidential candidate Andrew Yang explain UBI:

“Every single facet of American life that has an institution has been infected with the disease of racism,” Tubbs said,“You look at environmental injustice: It’s not an accident that Black folks [and] Latino folks are more likely to get COVID-19 or die from COVID-19, because they’re also more likely to live in an area with high rates of asthma because of the environmental toxins in the air… They’re more likely to have diabetes because they’re more likely to live in communities with no grocery stores, with more liquor stores and no safe spaces to play.”

Read more about Jack Dorsey in One Green planet, including his coronavirus pledge.

Sign this petition to Demand the Federal Government Enact a Universal Basic Income During COVID-19 Health Crisis Now!

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