Jennifer Lawson studied philosophy and psychology at Stetson University and the University of North Florida. During graduate school, she suffered several psychotic breaks, and now lives on disability. Jennifer has been an advocate and activist for over twenty years.
How did you hear about Basic Income?
I studied political philosophy in graduate school. This means being fluent in all stripes of political argument. One day, while perusing the blogs, which I did quite often as a blogger for my university, I found some Libertarian arguments for Basic Income. This was a flavor of Libertarian who understands that poverty should be alleviated, but wants small government, too. I found the arguments compelling.
Why do you support a Basic Income?
I support a Basic Income because I am now disabled, and receive disability. There was a time, when I was applying for disability, where I had no income whatsoever. People who apply for disability often have a long waiting period during which time they have no money. This was a struggle for me because I still had bills and needs. I figured that if a Basic Income existed, there wouldn’t have been a time where I had no income coming in.
Photo used by permission of Jennifer Lawson.
Basic Income Interviews is a special recurring segment of Basic Income News, introduced in July 2016 by Jason Murphy and Kate McFarland. Through a series of short interviews, we aspire to display the diversity of support that basic income receives throughout the world.
Have your own thoughts to contribute? Want to see yourself in a future Basic Income Interview? Visit our interview form.
