Basic Income Grant could have supported the economy during lockdown

Tujoromajo Kasuto A new report by Simonis Storm Securities (SSS), reveals that a temporary basic income grant would have gone a long way in providing support to those who lost their jobs, businesses or income as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Once economic indicators demonstrated a meaningful recovery, the basic income grant could have been phased out to avoid dependency and to encourage people to seek employment. This policy intervention would have increased government debt and widened the budget deficit, but it would have supported the economy given that consumer spending is 70 percent of the Gross Domestic…