A New Declaration: Economic Liberty for the Next 250 Years

Dear Friends and Fellow Citizens,

On July 2, 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) stood before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and pledged “a new deal for the American people.” His words, fueled by the hardships of the Great Depression, launched a revolution in the American social contract. Today, nearly a century later, we face a new crisis of economic inequality and instability—a crisis demanding a new, bold response.

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, I am struck by a question that echoes through our history: What will define the next 250 years? The first two and a half centuries were a struggle, by and large, for political freedom, fought bravely and imperfectly, but ultimately with progress. Now, as we stand on the threshold of America’s third century, we must ask: Will the next 250 years be spent fighting for economic freedom—or will we seize this moment to secure it for every American?

It is time to draw inspiration from the FDR era and demand a Universal Basic Income (UBI) at the national level, financed in part by those who have reaped the most benefit from our shared investments.

The Public Pays, the Private Profits

We are living in a nation of astonishing wealth. Trillion-dollar corporations and billionaires owe much of their success not just to their own ingenuity, but to the collective contributions of taxpayers. The internet, the backbone of the modern economy, was funded by public dollars through DARPA. The infrastructure of information superhighways, satellites, and research that enabled today’s tech giants was not the work of private industry alone, but of public investment and sacrifice.

Yet, as wealth has become more concentrated, economic security for the average American has become more precarious. We have reached a point where a handful of individuals possess more wealth than entire regions, while millions struggle with stagnant wages and insecure work. It is time for those who have benefited most from our public investments to pay their fair share to ensure economic dignity for all.

Learning from FDR: Legislation, Not Just Rhetoric

FDR did not wait for perfect consensus or constitutional amendments to act. His vision for an Economic Bill of Rights—a right to a job, a home, healthcare, and education—was not intended to be a mere aspiration. He demanded action from Congress. In his 1944 State of the Union address, he declared that these rights could and should be guaranteed by sweeping legislative action, not by rewriting the Constitution but by harnessing the machinery of government for the common good.

The G.I. Bill, passed just months after FDR’s Economic Bill of Rights speech, was a test run for this vision. It guaranteed free higher education, low-interest home loans, and unemployment benefits—lifelines that transformed the lives of veterans and built the American middle class. There is no reason we cannot build on this legacy for everyone. We need a twenty-first-century G.I. Bill—for all.

No More Excuses: Inflation, Wars, and Shutdowns

It is easy for politicians to point to inflation, foreign conflicts, or government shutdowns as reasons not to act. But these are not excuses—they are symptoms of a deeper unwillingness to challenge entrenched interests and invest in our people. There is no such thing as putting the programs that have been destroyed back together by wishing for the past. We need bold action now.

How Do We Pay for It?

A national UBI can be funded through a combination of innovative approaches that ask those who have benefited most from public investment to contribute fairly. First, we can impose a modest Value-Added Tax (VAT) at the national level, particularly targeting goods and services produced by billion- and soon-to-be trillion-dollar technology companies—businesses that owe their existence to taxpayer-funded innovations like the internet. Second, we can close loopholes in the corporate tax code, ensuring that the largest corporations pay a fair share that reflects their reliance on public infrastructure and research. Third, we can implement a wealth tax on the ultra-wealthy, whose fortunes have been built in large part through collective investments.

The history of American innovation—from the New Deal to the tech boom—shows that when we invest in people, prosperity follows. By redirecting a portion of our nation’s immense wealth, we can ensure every American receives a basic level of economic security without placing undue burden on working families. Rather than asking whether we can afford a UBI, we should be asking whether we can afford to leave millions behind while our nation’s wealth grows ever more concentrated at the top.

A Moral Imperative—Echoing Paine, MLK, and FDR

Thomas Paine, the American Revolutionary, believed that “we have it in our power to begin the world over again.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. directly advocated for a guaranteed income as the necessary next step after civil rights, emphasizing economic justice as a foundation for true equality. Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his Economic Bill of Rights, called on Congress to secure economic security for all Americans—not someday, but now.

We have the tools, the wealth, and the historical precedent. What remains is the courage to act. On this anniversary of FDR’s New Deal pledge, let us be guided not by fear or division, but by hope and unity. Let us take up the work of building a nation where economic security is not a privilege, but a birthright. The promise of a Universal Basic Income is not just an idea for policy—it is a call to action for our generation, and for generations yet to come. If you believe in change, join this movement, fight for the future you want to see, subscribe and share, and donate to support this cause. Together, we can ignite a new era of American possibility—one where dignity, security, and hope are within reach for all.

In Solidarity,

Gamy Enriquez, MPA

References:

1. FDR Presidential Library. (https://www.fdrlibrary.org/)

2. Social Security Administration. (https://www.ssa.gov/)

3. “Why We Need a New Economic Bill of Rights.” The Atlantic, 2023. (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/economic-bill-of-rights/674153/)

4. “The GI Bill’s Legacy, and Lessons for Today.” Brookings, 2024. (https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-gi-bills-legacy-and-lessons-for-today/)

5. “The Public Origins of Private Wealth.” MIT Technology Review, 2025. (https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/03/15/1078215/the-public-origins-of-private-wealth/)

6. Congressional Research Service. (https://crsreports.congress.gov/)