Scott Santens
Editor of Basic Income Today
EDITOR’S PICKS
Why one Bay Area County Is Exploring Basic Income for Former Foster Youth
When Dontae Lartigue left foster care right before his 19th birthday in 2009, finding housing in Santa Clara County was one of his biggest obstacles. He struggled to find places he could afford on his $12 an hour salary at Walmart, and with a limited income and no rental history, he found landlords were often wary of returning his calls. So Lartigue, who is now 29 years old, ended up couch surfing or sleeping in his car. “Right now when
Latest Articles
Income Inequality
In the United States, there aren’t enough hours in the week to make rent
Article originally published April 12, 2019. The mayor of Brisbane, a small city squeezed between San Francisco and Silicon …
Study: 79% of parents are providing on average $7,000 of financial support to their adult children at a cost of $500 billion per year
Article originally published on Oct 2, 2018. Many millennials are having a tough time financially launching their adult lives …
One in Six British Workers Have Too Much Education for Their Job
Millions of British workers are overqualified for their jobs, according to figures published Monday. Sixteen percent of 16-to-64-year-olds in …
Universal basic income vs jobs guarantees: which one will make us happier?
Two competing (or, possibly, complementary?) proposals for resolving income inequality and the hole that four decades of demand-side Reaganomics …
Pilots & Experiments
Unconditional handouts benefit recipients—and their neighbours too
Economists have long argued that people should give each other money rather than gifts, since it is hard to …
The UBI experiments in India show that it positively transforms the lives of women
DEBATE Could basic income play a role in the fight against unfree labour? The Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) …
Basic income is paving a path to freedom in Kenya
Beyond Trafficking and Slavery: Tell us a bit about the basic income trial that Give Directly, your NGO, is …
Workers Strength Fund giving 500 gig workers in four cities $1,000 in no-strings-attached cash
Over the past few years, an increasing number of countries have witnessed a demand for basic income. India too …
The Social Debate
Universal Benefits: More Liberal and More Efficient than Employer Benefits
Early liberals focused on dismantling de jure social hierarchies and mercantilist policies, but the onset of the Industrial Revolution …
Gallup survey of 10,000 adults shows three-quarters of the UK and Canada now support UBI and almost half in the US
STORY HIGHLIGHTS 43% of Americans support a universal basic income program 77% of U.K. adults and 75% of Canadians …
Support for UBI in the US has grown from 43% to 49% in the past seven months according to new HarrisX poll
Support for universal basic income (UBI) is on the rise, according to a new Hill-HarrisX poll released on Wednesday. …
Four parties took the stage in Manitoba to debate disability issues and all but one pitched some form of basic income
Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives wouldn’t commit to a guaranteed basic income for people living with disabilities like their political opponents …
Social Justice
Opinion: How Unconditional Basic Income Could Benefit the Vegan Movement
Here vegan activist Megan Barker makes the case that the lack of unconditional basic income (UBI) is an obstacle …
Basic Income March planned for September 21, 2019 in New York City
New Yorkers are organizing a march for Basic Income. Everyone who can get there is invited to join. The …
America is failing at providing economic dignity, and universal basic income is perhaps one policy that can change that
For years, the government of Bhutan has enshrined gross national happiness as its guiding light. Though national leaders had …
Higher taxes on the wealthy and on business should be introduced to fund universal basic income and other measures to combat poverty
Up to €3 billion a year in higher taxes on the wealthy and on business should be introduced to …
Success Stories
Economic analysis of Canada’s child benefit cash allowance bolsters case for universal basic income
The Canada Child Benefit has not only lifted kids out of poverty, but it has boosted the country’s economy …
Mississippi program providing low-income mothers $1000 a month of basic income demonstrates its potential
JACKSON, Miss. — Cheryl Gray had sat through so many presentations about programs to lift herself out of poverty …
Sherman County, Oregon has used wind power to provide a $590 dividend per household every year since 2002
For a region that’s blessed with bountiful natural resources, the Pacific Northwest has largely missed the boat. We’re not …
A solution for childhood obesity? Universal basic income
First published on May 31, 2019 A new study links an extra $1,000 a year paid through Alaska’s Permanent …
The Basics of UBI
Andrew Yang’s Freedom Dividend Is Only A Step Toward Elon Musk’s Basic Income Vision
Andrew Yang has managed to stay in the Texas Hold’em tournament past the first bubble. Unlike other outsiders, he …
An unconditional basic income floor permits everyone to fail. And that’s a good thing.
The opportunity to fail is a privilege afforded to a narrow subset of Americans. Risk and reward are two …
Instead of personal tax credits, everyone in Ireland could start each week with €75 ($84)
Give everyone €75 a week. All adults regardless of whether they are in employment or not, regardless of their …
Basic Income as a Policy Lever: Can UBI Reduce Crime?
The idea of a universal basic income (UBI)—an unconditional payment, without means-test or work requirement—has recently seen a resurgence …
Workforce Automation
As AI gets better at performing the routine tasks traditionally done by humans, only the hardest ones will be left
When machines start picking off all the easy work for themselves, many white-collar jobs are going to get a …
Fast-food industry on a path to be the first to fully automate
KEY POINTS: • Panera Bread loses close to 100% of its workers every year. • For fast-food chains employee …
The Robots Are Coming…To Free You
In this series Luke explores the Eight Modern Giants introduced by Economist Guy Standing in his recent report Basic …
Automation Could Force Millions of Women to Find New Jobs
The study, released Tuesday, shows technological advancements affect the genders nearly evenly. That finding upends the notion that automation hits …