Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has slammed House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for her guaranteed minimum income proposal, describing it as turning the United States into a “Western European-style socialized democracy” during a Monday interview with Fox News‘ Shannon Bream.
“If we want to become a Western European-style socialized democracy, then that is the approach we should take,” Lee said.
Lee went on to describe how the proposal “hurts poor and middle-class people”.
“The fact is that runs contrary to everything we believe about the limited role of government, and about the ability individual citizens need to have to achieve upward economic mobility,” he added. “If you want a stagnant economy, one in which poor and middle-class Americans are locked in place and have artificial barriers put in their way by government, then that’s what you should do. Otherwise, we should stick to free markets. Nancy Pelosi knows better and she ought to be ashamed of herself for suggesting otherwise.”
Pelosi suggested on Monday that a universal basic income, as famously promoted by populist Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, was “perhaps” worth considering as a consequence of the ongonig coronavirus crisis.
“Others have suggested … a guaranteed income for people,” Pelosi told MSNBC. “Is that worthy of attention now? Perhaps so, because there are many more people than just in small business and hired by small business, as important as that is to the vitality of our economy, and other people who are not in the public sector to meeting our needs in so many ways that may need some assistance as well.”
