SAN FRANCISCO May 11, 2020 The Gerald Huff Fund for Humanity, a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the understanding, acceptance, and implementation of Universal Basic Income programs to benefit all Americans today announced that a new poll of Iowa Democratic voters shows widespread support of both emergency direct payments of $2,000 per month and permanent Universal Basic Income (UBI) payments of $1,000 per month.
UBI is an investment in society through an amount of income that is unconditional, universal, individual, and regularly provided. In other words, it’s an income floor below which no one is allowed to fall, and all other income adds to. It is traditionally considered to be an amount sufficient to raise everyone above the poverty line, but that is not required to meet the definition of UBI.
The poll, sponsored by The Gerald Huff Fund for Humanity and conducted by Public Policy Polling, surveyed 849 Iowa voters by telephone and text message from May 6-7, 2020. The margin of error is +/- 3.4%.
The poll shows that Iowa Democratic voters overwhelmingly support a temporary pandemic stimulus benefit of $2,000 a month for six months for all U.S. citizens over the age of 18, with 60% supporting its enactment and only 21% opposed, with 20% unsure. Poll respondents also showed support by a margin of 8% for a permanent Universal Basic Income of $1,000 a month for all U.S. citizens over the age of 18.
Both Democratic and Republican Congresspeople have suggested monthly direct payments during the pandemic emergency, among them Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Representative and Libertarian presidential candidate Justin Amash, and Senators Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and Ed Markey. There are currently three related bills pending in Congress: the Emergency Money for People Act (H.R.6496) and the ABC Act (H.R.6553) in the House, and the new Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act in the Senate, with over 40 total cosponsors so far between them.
The poll was proposed by Humanity First Movement Iowa, a newly formed grassroots network of activists across the state, committed to seeing the adoption of a permanent national UBI. HFM Iowa member Matt Wetstein, a father of two in Ames, observed that “despite support from a large majority of Americans, including Republicans, for recurring payments, none of Iowa’s representatives in Congress currently support recurring $2,000 monthly COVID-19 relief payments.”
Universal Basic Income has gained momentum since it was a signature issue for former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang who campaigned aggressively in Iowa before he withdrew in February.
About The Gerald Huff Fund for Humanity:
The Gerald Huff Fund for Humanity is a Section 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was created in 2019 to promulgate the vision of the late Gerald Huff, an ardent proponent of Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a transitional solution to the existential threat of technological unemployment. Through various programs and initiatives, the Fund supports UBI by collaborating with education and advocacy programs and individuals to further its understanding, acceptance, and implementation to benefit all Americans. Among the Fund’s current initiatives are Basic Income Today, an online information and community site dedicated to providing news and information and furthering the discussion and debate about UBI. https://fundforhumanity.org/ On Twitter @FundforHumanity.
