Scott Santens
Editor of Basic Income Today
EDITOR’S PICKS
Salesforce CEO Says AI Is Doing Over 30% of Tasks at the Company: ‘Higher-Value Work’
In an interview with Bloomberg’s “The Circuit with Emily Chang” on Thursday, Benioff said that AI is doing “30% to 50%” of the work at Salesforce.
Latest Articles
Basic Income for the Arts extended to 2026 as National Campaign for The Arts calls for it be made permanent
It was announced today that the Basic Income for the Arts Scheme was extended by 6 months into February by Minister for Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Patrick O’Donovan.
NJ’s Largest City Gave 400 People ‘Guaranteed Income’ – Here’s What Happened
Hundreds of Newark residents were each given thousands of dollars with no work requirements. Here’s where the money went, a new report says.
Report calls for minimum income guarantee pilot in Scotland
A minimum income guarantee could be piloted in Scotland following next year’s Holyrood elections.
Income Inequality
I Worked Hard My Entire Life — Now I’m 70 And Broke. Something Has To Change In This Country.
“I don’t own a house. My IRA is long gone. The only thing my kids are likely to inherit right now is a pretty good object lesson in what not to do financially.”
Most Americans can’t afford life anymore — and they just don’t matter to the economy like they once did
Burns tries to stretch every dollar to maximize their quality of life on the family’s limited income.
Top 1 Percent Has Sapped $79T in Wealth From Bottom 90 Percent Since 1975
In 2023 alone, $3.9 trillion was sapped from the bottom 90 percent— enough to give every worker a $32,000 raise.
Pilots & Experiments
Facing indefinite legal delays, commissioners vote to end Harris County’s guaranteed income program
The news came after the program, initially called Uplift Harris and later revamped as the Community Prosperity Program, drew multiple lawsuits and allegations of “lottery socialism” from conservative lawmakers.
Campaign for living income pilot launches in Greater Manchester, UK
Middleton Cooperating is among the organisations leading the campaign
Software engineer lost his $150K-a-year job to AI—he’s been rejected from 800 jobs and forced to DoorDash and live in a trailer to make ends meet
By: Preston ForeSee original article here. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has predicted that AI will be doing all coding tasks by next
The Social Debate
Is Windsor-Essex ready for a guaranteed basic income? This senator says it’s time
In late May, Sen. Kim Pate introduced Bill S-206, which calls upon the federal government to develop a financial framework for a Guaranteed Livable Basic Income.
Another SRD grant extension planned amid basic income grant delays in South Africa
Consultations and workshops are holding up a basic income grant in South Africa.
Community Organizations Buck Big Money Lobbyists’ Attempt to Ban Guaranteed Basic Income
In a huge win for families across the state, a bill to ban guaranteed income failed to pass the Texas Legislature.
Success Stories
Artists who got almost $1,500 a month under a basic income pilot say their work improved
A basic income program for the arts in Ireland ends in August after three years.
Opinion: A Guaranteed Basic Income Program Was a Lifeline for Me
UpTogether told us: “Here’s money that we know folks need. You figure out how it works best for your family.”
Hundreds of care leavers were given free money, no strings attached. Here’s what happened
The Welsh basic income pilot for care leavers has come to an end, but its effects have been profound
The Basics of UBI
The history of universal basic income: The concept of UBI has been debated for centuries
Figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Richard Nixon supported versions of UBI.
The Freedom From Want and Basic Income
Human beings are not game pieces. We are not theoretical abstractions. We are animals. And like all animals we have needs that must be met or we will suffer greatly and die.
Universal basic income: ‘The power to say no and the freedom to say yes’
Scott Santens is the founder and CEO of the U.S.-based Income to Support All (ITSA) Foundation, and has been researching and advocating for Universal Basic Income (UBI) since 2013.
Workforce Automation
Tech unemployment in the US climbs for fifth consecutive month to 5.5%, AI blamed for job losses
The rise of AI agents is having an effect on entry-level positions
Universal Basic Income: A Business Case For The AI Era
The arithmetic is sobering. Current projections suggest millions of workers face displacement within this decade.
Phonely’s new AI agents hit 99% accuracy—and customers can’t tell they’re not human
A three-way partnership between AI phone support company Phonely, inference optimization platform Maitai, and chip maker Groq has achieved a breakthrough that addresses one of conversational artificial intelligence’s most persistent problems: the awkward delays that immediately signal to callers they’re talking to a machine.