Inherent Good Photo
Inherent Good is a 60-minute documentary that introduces the benefits of Universal Basic Income as a grassroots policy and is trying to transform many Americans and people around the world to be self-sufficient and not slaves to the world of capitalism by distributing a no-strings-attached income model that works for everyone from all walks of life and to help improve the economy and provide a more sustainable foundation. It’s not a new idea; it’s been introduced by Martin Luther King, Jr. in the late 60s.
This week marks Income Movement Week, where the grassroots organization is holding different virtual events. And during this pandemic; people need help and are barely making ends meet. That’s where Universal Basic Income (UBI) comes in. And there’s been marches in big cities with passionate supporters trying to make this policy into reality. The next big march will be held on September 19 with social distancing in mind. It’s starting to gain momentum quickly. Congress, are you listening? Sign UBI into law now! It’s not such a far-fetched idea after all, is it?
The documentary premiered on Facebook Live and Zoom during their official watch party and Q&A. It features interviews with one of the producers of the film, Trae Crowder and also one with Crowder conducting an interview with former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who first introduced the idea and called it, “The Freedom Dividend”. Then the interviews progressed to profile real people; like Aisha Nyandoro, the CEO of Springboard to Opportunities who is behind the pilot program called, Magnolia Mothers Trust (MMT) an initiative in Jackson, Mississippi that provided $1,000 monthly payments to low-income African American mothers. It consisted of 20 women and ran from December 2018-November 2019. The documentary also featured citizens who are finding it extremely difficult to handle their finances and pay their bills.
Director Steve Borst and Producer Rennie Soga shared their views about the film. I recorded their comments during the official Zoom watch party premiere and Q&A on September 16.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of people from…(Celina, TN) are watching right now (parts of the documentary were filmed there) I would be curious to know what they’re thinking and what their minds have been changed,” Borst shared. “I will say when we started in 2017, nobody was talking about basic income; shout out to the Yang Gang!” because there’s a lot of people talking about basic income now. It’s really incredible when we started it, it was like, “Oh, this is like a really far-out there idea and it seemed like an uphill battle. So, anyone out there feeling really discouraged…that will never happen, I have been super-inspired by how far it actually has come in such a very short amount of time.”
“I’m curious to see too like in places like Celina during this pandemic,” Soga said. “If anyone was receiving these stimulus payments through the CARES Act; that was incredibly helpful to people I know and myself who were receiving it and I think that might maybe change some minds about what unconditional cash payments can do during these times.”
Watch the official Inherent Good trailer now on YouTube:
