The Marshall Islands government has introduced an unconditional basic income (UBI) program, according to The Guardian. Under the program, every citizen living in the Marshall Islands will receive approximately $200 every quarter. The first payments were made at the end of November, and recipients could choose how to receive them: in cash to a bank account, by check, or cryptocurrency via a digital wallet.
“We, the government, want to make sure that no one is left behind,” Marshall Islands Finance Minister David Paul told the British newspaper.
“Quarterly payments of $200 per person, or about $800 per year, do not oblige people to quit their jobs… on the contrary, they are intended to lift spirits,” he said.
According to him, these payments should become a “social safety net” amid rising costs and an exodus of citizens.
The BDD program is funded by a trust fund created as part of an agreement with the United States, which, in particular, wants to compensate the Marshall Islands for decades of American nuclear testing. The fund’s assets amount to $1.3 billion, and the United States has pledged to contribute another $500 million by the end of 2027.
Experts cited by The Guardian call this program the first of its kind in the world.
The Marshall Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Australia. Their population is about 42,000.
