Scott Santens
Editor of Basic Income Today
Basic Income Today was created to provide news and information and to further the discussion and debate about Universal Basic Income.
EDITOR’S PICKS
Experts say UK must learn from ‘big deal’ Scottish Child Payment
The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that the bottom third of Scottish households with children will, on average, be around £2,000-a-year better off than similar English households.
Latest Articles
Denver’s basic income pilot secured new funding from mayor after coalition of advocacy groups lobbied for it to continue
There were 10,849 eviction filings in Denver County this year, the highest number since the 2008 financial crisis.
Prince George’s County launches a guaranteed basic income program in Maryland
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Prince George’s County is launching Thrive Prince George’s, a program that seeks to provide economic stability and mobility for families in the County.
Boston Mayor Supports UBI and Wants More Than Just Another Pilot
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu says she backs the concept of universal basic income. What she doesn’t want is another limited pilot like the ones that have spread across the country.
The success of the expanded child tax credit shows why anti-poverty programs should be unconditional
We’ve been fighting poverty all wrong
Conservative groups have sued to shut down the Abundant Birth Project giving Black mothers $1000 a month
For Briana Jones, a young Black mother in San Francisco, a city program called the Abundant Birth Project has been a godsend.
Income Inequality
Angus Deaton on inequality: ‘The war on poverty has become a war on the poor’
The Nobel prize winner and author of new book Economics in America argues economists must get back to serving society
Number of UK children living in extreme poverty nearly triples in five years
One million children were living in extreme poverty in 2022, according to estimates by a research charity
Opinion: South Africa Must Stop Flirting With a Basic Income Guarantee and Implement It
Last year the Good Party identified the implementation of a BIG as SA’s single most important need.
Why Does Everyone Feel So Insecure All the Time?
In the United States, the richest 10 percent of households own more than 70 percent of the country’s assets.
Pilots & Experiments
Guaranteed basic income could cut poverty on Prince Edward Island by 80%: report
Report out Wednesday says how much program would cost and how to pay for it
Why villagers haven’t left a mudslide prone mountain — and how unconditional cash might help
As climate change has made annual rains ever more intense, the deforested areas have become increasingly prone to deadly mudslides.
Bonnie Crombie promises to bring back Ontario’s basic income pilot program
The policy planks come two weeks before Liberal members vote for the new leader
Newfoundland and Labrador to launch basic income program for residents aged 60-64
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is launching a basic income program for residents aged 60 to 64, part of a poverty reduction plan announced Wednesday that some advocates say could make a real difference.
The Social Debate
Opinion: Basic income is less radical than you think
I’ve been following debates on guaranteed income for almost a decade, and one thing that’s stood out is that universal basic income (UBI), a regular cash payment to all citizens with no strings attached, is like a Rorschach test.
A basic income scheme for the developing world
If Brazil’s scheme became permanent it would set a global example, as ‘bolsa familia’ did in the 2000s
South Africa’s Minister of Social Development confirms Basic Income Grant is on the cards
Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu says she will approach Cabinet to approve the draft policy on the Basic Income Grant before it is fully implemented.
Basic income is being considered in Canada’s Senate
The Senate is studying a bill that would introduce a framework for a policy that would guarantee access to a livable income to everyone over 17.
Andrew Yang
Success Stories
Mississippi program shows how giving mothers guaranteed basic income helps children
Sequaya Coleman, with her daughter, was randomly selected to receive $1,000 a month, no strings attached, for a year from the Magnolia Mother’s Trust.
Basic income for the arts: ‘That ‘Jesus Christ, what am I going to do?’ moment isn’t as bad now’
Gearóid O’Dea explains how the BIA pilot scheme has enabled him to worry less and concentrate more on developing his painting career
A Native American woman experiencing homelessness said a Denver basic income program allowed her to pay her bills and attend college
The Denver Basic Income Project has received a $2 million commitment from the City of Denver in its 2024 budget, and is in talks to determine next steps, according to Donovan.
Young parents in Baltimore are getting $1,000 a month, no strings attached, a deal so good some ‘thought it was a scam’
There was no questioning the impact, she told Insider: The money “helped me keep my life afloat.”
The Basics of UBI
Universal Basic Income: A solution for a diverse country
Recent experiences like the COVID-19 pandemic have brutally highlighted that traditional policy tools are inadequate in protecting the weakest sections of India.
UBI vs. Negative Income Tax
An NIT sounds very different from a UBI because, well, it sounds like a tax, not a benefit! But as we’ll see, in most circumstances, the two are mathematically equivalent.
How Basic Income Will Impact Rent
One fear about Universal Basic Income (UBI) is that it could cause rents to increase, partially or entirely diverting the benefit of UBI to landlords.
UBI Book Review: Citizen’s Basic Income: A Multidisciplinary Approach by Malcolm Torry
This book explores what a range of different academic disciplines have to say about universal basic income.
Workforce Automation
AI is coming for our jobs! Could universal basic income be the solution?
While it is still considered by many to be a radical concept, proponents of a universal basic income (UBI) no longer see it only as a solution to poverty but as the answer to some of the biggest threats faced by modern workers
CEOs view AI as a “top investment priority”
If CEOs had their way, their workers would be back in the office and pursuing AI advancements at the same time.
The rise in productivity and loss of jobs as a result of AI may require a universal basic income strategy says Robert Reich
In an interview with CNBC, Reich discussed how AI will have a profound impact on middle-class workers, creating an impetus for a universal basic income.
Nearly 12 million Americans may need to switch jobs by 2030
Nearly 12 million Americans in occupations with shrinking demand may need to switch jobs by 2030.