A Basic Income for all citizens during the coronavirus crisis months.

Coronavirus is a worldwide crisis requiring emergency government measures to support essential services - along with citizen action. We are all learning and adjusting rapidly. Businesses, organisations and individuals are making the best decisions we can. The consequences of those decisions for a lot of people mean keeping children, elderly relatives and neighbours safe while worrying about reduced or no income for the foreseeable future. The UK government could lead the way in valuing citizens as active participants in working through this crisis and could provide a model for other countries. Afterwards, in the summer months, when we are learning from how we dealt with this crisis and making the changes needed to be better prepared next time, there will be UK wide data available to study how people used the basic income payments and what difference it made. In response to the 2008 financial crash, the UK and other governments bailed out the banking sector. That didn't stop the following years of austerity. It's worth trying out a different approach and investing in citizens.