Issue Position: Universal Basic Income & Economic Justice

Issue Position

Charles grew up in, currently lives in, and represents in the Kentucky General Assembly the poorest zip code in the state of Kentucky. He is running for Senate to put an end to the cycle of generational poverty that has kept members of his family and his neighbors' families trapped. He supports a universal basic income as an essential strategy to put an end to the structures of our economy -- including structural racism -- that keep people in poverty.

Kentucky's poverty rate is 28% higher than the national average, and the average Kentucky income is 80% of the national average. Addressing these statistics will require bold solutions and investment in people. A universal basic income will provide poor Kentuckians the financial means, dignity, and autonomy to make decisions to better their lives. Charles believes that a guaranteed basic income should not be means-tested, and should not be restricted in how it can be spent.

Charles firmly believes that people are worth more than their hourly wage, and supports a universal basic income in order to promote financial freedom and ownership, and not just labor for a wage, as a pathway to prosperity for Kentuckians. A universal basic income is especially important because it would tangibly benefit black Kentuckians in the most marginalized communities, whose economic prospects have been hard hit by decades of oppression and discrimination.

For more information on Charles Booker's support for a universal basic income, read his guest editorial in the Louisville Courier-Journal from Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

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