On August 13th, 2020, I had the chance to have a “Zoom” interview with Congressional candidate from Tennessee, Blair Walsingham. Thanks, Blair, for asking me for a chat. Blair has set up a UBI demonstration called the Freedom Grant, that she will be doing in her congressional district in Eastern Tennessee. She has shown a true commitment to the principle of distribution a non-means tested income to every American.
In 2014 I visited eastern TN, driving to Knoxville, TN from North Carolina. We drove through the Smoky Mountains–me and my mom–and we were really struck by the natural beauty of the mountains. Knoxville was friendly, walkable, with lots of community art efforts evident all around. People should be able to live in a place this lovely without struggling to make ends meet. Yet large numbers of TN residents live in poverty, and the current welfare system does not provide financial relief to most of the people it knows to be living in poverty. Only 1/5 of people in Tennessee poor enough to qualify for national Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash assistance are even enrolled. Right now, TN TANF sits on $732 million in anti-poverty dollars, accumulated over the course of several years, and only began to talk about helping people with this giant pot of money when the mismanagement of the funds came to the attention of the federal government and the media.
With a Universal Basic Income, this desperate situation will change.
Click here to see the interview and check Blair’s website. Consider donating your time and energy to her campaign for Congress.
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