Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang revealed plans Thursday to work together to help people financially hit by the coronavirus.
Mr. Dorsey, Twitter’s chief executive officer, announced he is donating $5 million to Mr. Yang’s non-profit organization, “Humanity Forward,” which in turn will be used to fund thousands of small grants distributed to people in need of economic assistance due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The tech titan disclosed the donation during the latest episode of “Yang Speaks,” the former presidential hopeful’s podcast, while speaking highly of a proposal central to the host’s failed White House campaign: paying Americans a regular stipend by implementing a universal basic income, or UBI.
“I think this idea is long overdue, and I think the only way that we can change policy is experimenting and showing case studies of why this works,” Mr. Dorsey said about UBI. “We need this and we need this as soon as possible.”
Mr. Yang, a former tech executive, made UBI a focal point of his presidential campaign before exiting the White House race in February. He subsequently launched Humanity Forward the following month to continue promoting issues he championed while running for office, and the group recently started raising funds specifically to implement “emergency UBI programs” meant to support people most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic shutdown it sparked.
Mr. Yang expressed his appreciation for Mr. Dorsey’s donation during the podcast and said it will go toward funding thousands of “micro-grants” each worth roughly $250.
“Not only will Jack’s donation directly impact tens of thousands of people in need during the current economic downturn, it will help Humanity Forward and our movement continue to make a case for universal basic income in the United States,” Mr. Yang said in a statement.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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