Scott Santens
Editor of Basic Income Today
EDITOR’S PICKS
Twitter’s Founder Jack Dorsey Commits $1 Billion to COVID-19 Relief, UBI, and Girl’s Health and Education
Jack Dorsey, the CEO of both Twitter and digital payments platform Square, said on Tuesday that he will donate $1 billion worth of equity in Square to his Start Small LLC to fund COVID-19 relief around the world. Dorsey made the announcement in a tweet, revealing that the sum equates to roughly 28 percent of his current net worth, or about $3.6 billion. The announcement marks the most significant philanthropic effort from the 43-year-old tech executive in his career. Dorsey
Latest Articles
Has the time finally come for universal basic income?
Spanish Government Aims to Roll Out Basic Income ‘Soon’
Basic Income in a Pandemic and Beyond
We Need to Start Tossing Money Out of Helicopters
Income Inequality
Do markets require redistribution to avoid market failure due to excessive inequality?
Wealth inequality is escalating at an alarming rate not only within the U.S. but also in countries as diverse …
With growth this tepid, is it time to give ‘helicopter money’ a whirl?
Growth is the default setting for modern economies. Humans innovate and improve, find better ways of doing things. Only …
The Significance of an Unconditional $1,000 per month
Andrew Yang’s plan to provide $1,000 in government-sponsored payments to every American adult each month — an “allowance for …
‘Socialism for the rich’: the evils of bad economics
Article originally published on June 6th, 2019. In most rich countries, inequality is rising, and has been rising for …
Pilots & Experiments
Privately-Funded Basic Income Experiment Begins in Japan
Overview of the Social Experiment The ‘Maezawa Basic Income Social Experiment 2020’ is a monetary giveaway project in which …
California state lawmaker introduces bill to create universal basic income of $1K a month
California Assemblyman Evan Low (D) introduced a bill this week to create a universal basic income in the state, …
The Many Places Basic Income Has Been Tried Out in Some Way
After hundreds of years, basic income seems to be finally catching on. The general idea — that the government should give …
Hull asks to be first UK city to trial universal basic income
Hull wants to become the first UK city to test a weekly universal basic income for its residents after …
The Social Debate
Has the time finally come for universal basic income?
In the past few weeks, calls for a universal basic income have been louder than ever. Even the US …
Financial Times Editorial Board Calls for Basic Income to Reverse the Policy Direction of the Last Four Decades
If there is a silver lining to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is that it has injected a sense of …
Basic Income in a Pandemic and Beyond
Politicians who represent the interests of capital clearly grasp the point that a UBI would tilt the playing field …
We need to get money to everyone, and we need to improve how they get it too
To battle the economic crash from the coronavirus pandemic, Congress is sending Americans cash. The deal just hammered out will …
Andrew Yang
Universal basic income is gaining ground in some cities
NEWARK, N.J. — Local leaders across the United States are turning to private donors to fund an out-of-the-box policy …
Is UBI in New York City’s future?
We’re down to single digits. Eight Democratic presidential candidates remain after three dropped out this week: Senator Michael Bennet …
Push for UBI continues on
Andrew Yang’s bid for the Democratic nomination is over, but supporters of his basic income policy say his campaign …
Yang dishes on his sadness over losing and excitement for his next big venture
WASHINGTON — Andrew Yang looks at his phone and laughs: “Everyone thinks I’m going to announce for mayor tomorrow.” …
Success Stories
How UBI Affects People’s Lives: A Compilation of Experiences from Basic Income Recipients
“In my experience, there is no clearer understanding of the concept of unconditional basic income than among those who …
One Year on Andrew Yang’s UBI: How a N.H. Family Spent Their $12,000
How would an extra $12,000 a year change your lifestyle? Your life? The centerpiece of Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign …
Early Results from Stockton’s $500/mo Basic Income Pilot
Stockton, California gave money to random recipients from neighborhoods where the median annual income is $46,000 – no strings …
A photo update from 5 families receiving a basic income
In 2017, GiveDirectly launched a Universal Basic Income Program. As part of this program, we are running a randomized control …
The Basics of UBI
Life, Liberty, and Universal Basic Income
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their …
Universal basic income is about universal basic security
Imagine, for a moment, that the robots have won. The year is 2049—the same year researchers once pegged as …
We All Deserve An Income Floor: Why the Bold Policy of Basic Income Works
If guaranteed income is an attempt to provide people with more resources—resources that come with very few restrictions—it demands …
The Fall and Rise of the Basic Income Movement
Forty years ago today—February 7, 1980—was a small milestone for the Universal Basic Income (UBI) movement: Milton and Rose Friedman dedicated …
Workforce Automation
41 Percent of Companies Are Accelerating Plans To Automate As Coronavirus Forces Workers To Stay Home
Almost half of company bosses in 45 countries are speeding up plans to automate their businesses as workers are …
New fast food robot costs $3 per hour
In a test kitchen in a corner building in downtown Pasadena, Flippy the robot grabbed a fryer basket full …
The robots are here, they’re working in management, and they’re grinding workers into the ground.
In warehouses, call centers, and other sectors, intelligent machines are managing humans, and they’re making work more stressful, grueling, …
Inside Amazon’s First Full-Blown Cashierless Supermarket
Is this the future grocery shoppers want? Jeff Bezos sure hopes so. The first ever Amazon Go Grocery — which opens …