Coronavirus basic income: 13 countries around the world experimenting with direct payments to offset COVID financial fallout
In the Netherlands, the government will pay up to 90% of workers' salaries.
The UK government will pay up to 80% of workers' wages, a first for the country.
The plan will cover around $3,000 a month, Zeballos-Roig reports. And companies could use it retroactively, rehiring any workers who were laid off.
In addition, the government has given free cash grants to small businesses.
France is offering self-employed workers up to $1,600.
Around 600,000 French citizens can receive the money if lockdowns stopped them from working or reduced business by 70%, reports Melissa Eddy at The New York Times.
Additionally, the country is spending $50 billion to pay businesses to keep workers employed, according to Liz Alderman at The New York Times.
"There's a very different strategy in Europe than in the United States about how to manage this recession," Patrick Artus, chief economist of Paris-based Natixis Bank, told Alderman. "The idea is to have no layoffs or company closures, so that when the coronavirus is finally under control the economy can start right back up."
Germany is offering aid to small employers and freelancers, and 150,000 workers in Berlin received direct assistance within days.
All 16 states in Germany are offering payments to smaller businesses and self-employed citizens, Eddy reports. The aid comes from a combination of state funds and federal support from the country's coronavirus package.
In Berlin, this group accounts for almost a quarter of all business. The process for receiving aid there has reportedly been noteworthy for its efficiency.
"We are all pretty amazed," Laurenz Bostedt, a freelance photographer, told Eddy. "It went surprisingly fast and was all refreshingly well-organized."
Italy will give around $650 to self-employed and seasonal workers.
The day after applications for funds opened, the website crashed, Eddy reports.
The United States will send many Americans $1,200 stimulus checks.
Many Americans will automatically receive their checks, Business Insider's Libby Kane and Tanza Loudenback report. For those who use direct deposit, payments should arrive in mid-April.
Not everyone will receive $1,200; you can use an online calculator to figure out how much you'll receive.
In Brussels, self-employed workers are eligible for replacement income in March and April.
The different regions of Belgium have offered different payments. Brussels will compensate those who are self-employed and have either had to stop working or had work disrupted for at least seven days.
The different regions are all offering funding to impacted cultural sectors.
South Korea will cover 70% or more of wages.
Some contractors and self-employed or part-time workers may also be eligible for a one-time cash payment, The New York Times reports.
Malaysia is offering direct handouts to workers in some impacted industries.
Bus and taxi drivers, tour guides, immigration workers, and medical workers will all receive money from Malaysia's coronavirus package, Bloomberg reports.
Ireland introduced weekly emergency payments for self-employed people and those who had lost their jobs.
Payments were about $220 a week, according to Reuters. Over 58,000 people had claimed them just three days after the announcement.
In Australia, over 6 million "low-income earners" will receive $750 cash payments.
"Frankly, it is about a cash injection into the Australian economy, which supports small businesses and supports medium businesses," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, according to The Guardian.
"That, in turn, supports the jobs, which means people can continue to participate positively in the economy and have greater confidence going forward."
Popular Right Now
Advertisement