Maybe the way to end poverty is to give poor people money.

The idea of a universal basic income in the U.S. isn’t new. Progressives pushed the concept in the 1960s and 70s, and several other countries have tried local experiments. But, tech industry leaders like Tesla’s Elon Musk [1] have recently taken up the idea and that’s making a buzz.

Many of us in the disability community already live on the basic income called Social Security [2] and SSI.   Today, Mark Romoser, Josh Elwood, Sheela Gunn-Cushman, Eddie Ytuarte and Adrienne Lauby examine this new (old) idea.

Would a universal income produce more volunteers for your organization as those who are beaten down by poverty become activated empowered voting individuals. Or would poor people simply have more isolation and personal loneliness without the necessity to work a series of low-wage jobs? Based on the experience of people who currently live on the fixed income of Social Security our panel takes up this and other issues.

Produced and hosted by Adrienne Lauby with audio editing help from Sheela Gunn-Cushman. Audio engineering by Shelley Berman.

[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/04/elon-musk-robots-will-take-your-jobs-government-will-have-to-pay-your-wage.html

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_(United_States)