{"id":715075,"date":"2026-04-09T05:54:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T05:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/715075\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T05:54:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T05:54:29","slug":"am-rajkumar-introduces-universal-basic-stock-bill-to-give-new-yorkers-a-stake-in-the-economy-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/715075\/","title":{"rendered":"AM Rajkumar introduces \u2018Universal Basic Stock\u2019 bill to give New Yorkers a stake in the economy \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"rajkumar\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A portrait of Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar.<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of the District Office of Jenifer Rajkumar<\/p>\n

In a sweeping proposal to expand economic opportunity, Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar<\/a> exclusively shared with QNS that she is introducing legislation to establish Universal Basic Stock \u2014 a groundbreaking initiative that would expand ownership, build generational wealth for working families and create investment avenues for New Yorkers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy proposal argues that opportunity should include asset ownership, not just wages,\u201d said Rajkumar. \u201cAnd this idea is a response to one of the deepest fault lines in our economy, which is the gap between people who live off labor alone, and people who hold assets that grow over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

For decades, the stock market has generated historic wealth. However, ownership remains concentrated among a small number of Americans \u2014 economic wealth has not been accessible to \u201cmillions of hardworking families\u201d who contribute to it, according to a press release. The proposal also seeks to correct the divide between those who earn income and those whose assets accumulate over time.<\/p>\n

Rajkumar explained to QNS that this bill stands out because, unlike most economic policies that focus on income support, tax relief or public benefits, the Universal Basic Stock bill focuses on asset creation. Essentially, it moves individuals from \u201cpaycheck-only economics\u201d into \u201cownership economics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The assemblymember pointed out that the highest gains have gone to those who already own assets. The proposed bill expresses that city residents \u201cshould have the chance to own a piece of our economy that they helped build.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the bill goes into effect, the legislation would establish a Universal Basic Stock Fund administered by the Office of the State Comptroller<\/a>. The program would also provide every resident aged 18 or older with \u201ca one-time investment allocation to purchase shares in approved stocks or financial products, including companies rooted in New York\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, investment allocations would be provided to new residents and to New Yorkers turning 18, allowing them to enter adulthood with a stake in the economy. The move would subsequently lead to long-term mobility.<\/p>\n

Rajkumar further added that the initiative would empower millions of New Yorkers to begin building \u201creal assets, real savings and real wealth through ownership,\u201d rather than relying on wages. The Assembly 38 representative said the proposal represents a \u201cbold step toward expanding opportunity and strengthening the middle class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding the bill, Rajkumar shared her belief that investments and ownership should not be reserved exclusively for the well-connected. The assemblymember vocalized her advocacy for working families who build the economy \u2014 and intends to do so by granting access to assets that can advance them.<\/p>\n

\u201cUniversal Basic Stock is about building an ownership society where prosperity is not reserved for the few but shared by the many,\u201d said Rajkumar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A portrait of Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar. Photo courtesy of the District Office of Jenifer Rajkumar In a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":715076,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[297304,5229,258617,7510,6335,297305,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,6637,177657,8664,4413,67,586,132,5230,297306,68,2969,297307],"class_list":["post-715075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-am-rajkumar","tag-america","tag-assembly-member","tag-daily-newsletter","tag-exclusive","tag-jenifer-rajkumar","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-politics","tag-nys-assembly","tag-ownership","tag-queens","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-universal-basic-stock","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-working-families"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116373203766883075","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/715076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}