The best way to break the chain of transmission in the pandemic is the one that practically every nation on Earth has engaged at some point over the course of the COVID-19 crisis—keeping people home. Of course, the United States would be one of the few nations where this never happened. Individual states instituted stay-at-home orders, especially in the months of April and May, during the first big increase in cases across the country. Donald Trump, however, took exactly no action at the federal level, and some governors followed suit, never bothering to lock down their states, or doing so under guidelines so weak that they didn’t really matter.
But even in states there there was a stay-at-home order, and even among citizens who dearly wanted to remain safe, there was one common issue: money. Though some of those laid off were supposed to receive extended unemployment benefits, many states were overwhelmed by the sudden increase in the ranks of the unemployed. Some people are still waiting for the first payment months later. People need to stay home, both to remain safe personally and to defeat the pandemic. At the same time, people need to make enough money to pay bills. Democrats at all levels have made multiple efforts to address this central conundrum. And back in May, Sen. Kamala Harris made one of the strongest moves of all—she signed on to a proposal to pay everyone $2,000 a month for the duration of the emergency.
Around the world, nations have had to deal with the same issue. In Europe, some countries have responded by extended “sick pay” to workers in the gig economy while increasing the percentage of pay that workers receive when laid off. Countries have also relaxed regulations over standard sick pay provided to everyone to include people whose jobs would be unsafe during the pandemic. Others have provided interest-free loans to both workers and companies, with Germany offering unlimited loans to small businesses to keep workers on the payroll even if they’re not able to work.
All of this is in recognition of a simple fact—a quarantine can’t be effective if economic incentives are pushing people to go out and violate the quarantine. But in the United States, there is no federal mandated sick pay that covers everyone, the payroll protection program quickly turned into a scheme by which the wealthy could pocket billions while Trump refused to even explain where the money had gone, and with states already unable to deal with the unemployment situation, it was clear that wasn’t the right mechanism to protect workers. (Disclosure: Kos Media received a Paycheck Protection Program loan.)
That’s why, all the way back in May, Sen. Harris signed on with Senators Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey to provide Americans not with a one-and-done $1,200 check, but with an emergency income of $2,000 a month, good through the length of the pandemic.
“The coronavirus pandemic has caused millions to struggle to pay the bills or feed their families,” said Senator Harris. “… The Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act will ensure families have the resources they need to make ends meet. I am eager to continue working with Senators Sanders and Markey as we push to pass this bill immediately.”
Naturally, the bill hasn’t moved through the Senate—but not because it’s not the right idea. Like the Heros Act, Mitch McConnell has simply made sure that the bill never reaches the Senate floor and never faces a vote.
Ensuring income isn’t a new idea. While it’s popular in 2020 to remember the soaring rhetoric of Martin Luther King’s speeches, those remembrances rarely cover the item that King put consistently first in his list of issues—the need for economic equality, and the benefits of a Universal Basic Income. The MECS Act wouldn’t be real, lasting UBI, but it would be a start. And the fact that it’s being called for now shows the basic fragility of a system that does not include a guaranteed income.
Republicans have made it a talking point that we can’t possibly pay Americans to stay home. Yes we can. Yes we should. As The Washington Post notes, this type of direct payment hasn’t been part of Joe Biden’s announced economic plan. That doesn’t mean it can’t change.