IS A GUARANTEED INCOME FUNDED BY BILLIONAIRES THE ANSWER?
An article in the March 4, 2026 Examiner documented relatively lower levels of labor force participation and higher numbers of senior citizens in Hardy County. These related figures contribute to problems Potomac Highlands households experience in keeping up with the cost of living. But a straightforward answer to this dilemma may be possible in the form of new legislation proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ro Khanna. Called the “Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share” Act, the legislation will levy a 5% tax on the wealth of billionaires and provide a $3,000 stipend to every person in U.S. households that make less than $150,000 per year. It also seeks to reverse the $1.1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act made by President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and expand Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing care for millions of senior citizens. The legislation puts caps on how much families pay for childcare and guarantees every teacher makes at least $60,000. The proposal recognizes the steep increase in the number and wealth of billionaires in the U.S. in the post-Covid era and is meant to stem the rising levels of inequality and economic precarity that working people in America face.
So how would this proposal affect our neck of the woods? If 90% of the population in Hardy Co (14,335) received the $3,000 stipend from the tax, it would bring almost $39 MILLION dollars into the area! That is the equivalent of almost 800 new jobs that pay $50,000 a year. That money could supplement modest social security benefits and help pay for food, gas, groceries, needed medication, home repairs and a thousand other things that would benefit Hardy Co. seniors, families and businesses. I urge you to contact Senators Capito and Justice and Representative Moore and share your opinion of this legislative proposal.
Miguel Ferguson, Moorefield
