Universal Basic Income
10.03.2026 21:16
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Universal Basic Income
A wealth tax to support UBI is not punitive, but corrective. 2025 RAND study finds bottom 90% earned $3.9Trillion/year less, due to policy choices, than had income growth remained as evenly distributed as it was in 1975. Total since 1975 is $79 trillion.
scottsantens.substack.com/p/universal-...
Screenshot of CNN Business headline: Block laying off nearly half its staff due to AI, with photo of Jack Dorsey.
4,000 jobs cut out of 10,000 directly attributed to AI. Stock price soared. UBI is inevitable.
Poster of social needs. No I'm not looking up where a common meme came from. I got a copy from a discord server. If you're going to be pedantic about it, I will block your whiny ass.
Universal Basic income, Universal healthcare, and this, would fix me.
Oops! I started with the Burgerkrieg's quote but didn't add the clip. Here you go:
youtu.be/7k5ND1P0ZuI?...
How was our productive capacity? In the hole. We couldn't drive. We couldn't go anywhere. We had tankers/cargo ships lined up outside of ports waiting.
Oh, that.
www.scottsantens.com/17-key-varia...
I'll wrap with this more recent post by Scott that lays out the complexity of this subject.
It's like with the claims about Covid (you know, the ones that claimed that during that time we were all chomping at the bit with stir craziness...that basic income won't work because inflation (too))...
Here's the one I mentioned by Guy Standing:
youtu.be/aEUTR_YeweQ?...
![Scott Santens explains why Andrew Yang's Freedom Dividend will not cause inflation. [NFY Clip]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:y3enisimvc23o6ycmrdiqfyv/bafkreietb4cdwaqowx7loeh4ghqi7kyddit2njnbv7o4ndakr6awzkuxi4)
Here's a few recommended clips on the subject:
Two by @scottsantens.com
youtu.be/0H-W7tKkvxw?...
If I get informed that there's a cruise ship coming in then this all changes. I start calling people in if they can make it and producing like crazy.
Not theory. Not "its in my academic head". This is lived.
basicbc.wordpress.com/2022/01/20/c...
the potential to make money. I explained this in a little blog based on my own background of being a barista.
Essentially if its looking to be a quiet day I'll just start by myself, maybe bring out some things from the freezer and make a few display items but I don't have to go crazy.
Professor Guy Standing talks about inflation actually FELL while production, jobs and wages increased even with the modest amount paid out.
Why?
Because, as he explains, when the money is added to the economy producers come forward because they know they have customers out there and therefore
Most basic incomes either replace something else or are funded from something already in the economy as opposed to simply being helicoptered in.
It also depends on the productive capacity.
One thing explained in one of the clips ill place below is that in the Madhya Pradesh India pilot which
Firstly, of course and as multiple advocates like myself have repeated, basic income isn't a panacea. We can also have things in place to address certain issues such as rent. But there's still more to it.
Here's a clip from economist Karl Widerquist on a overall reason why not:
Basic income and Inflation "Basic income is not special spending." -Professor Karl Widerquist "Basic income would increase the need for basic goods and services increasing the supply rather than cost which is what we've seen in the pilots in India." -Professor Guy Standing "In Alaska when the PFD rolls out you see a lot of sales to get people into stores. Compared with other states, as well as some pilots, we've actually seen decreased inflationary pressure." -Scott Santens
One of the most enduring arguments against basic income is that it would cancel itself out by simply creating a new zero
"...because of, you know, inflation. Only thing is...that's not how inflation works."
The Burgerkrieg
basicincomeyyc HUNGER IN ALBERTA: THE REAL CAUSE CURRENT STATUS Food insecurity is rising • Food insecurity has increased for 3 years in a row In 2023, over 30% of Albertans experienced food insecurity • Millions struggle to afford basic food needs More than 1 in 3 Albertans struggled to afford food in 2023. But hunger isn't about personal choices. It's about income and inequality.
From Basic Income Calgary on Instagram: (1/4)
UNPOPULAR OPINION: A LOT OF "MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, DISAPPEAR WHEN BILLS ARE PAID, RENT IS SECURE, AND THE FRIDGE IS FULL. PEACE IS EXPENSIVE. AND PRETENDING MONEY DOESN'T AFFECT MENTAL HEALTH IS PRIVILEGE
⚾️ <- knocked out of park.
Everywhere across Canada, people are struggling.
Over 10% of us live in poverty. That's unacceptable.
A Guaranteed Livable Basic Income paired with a wealth tax are the actions to address income inequality we desperately need.
#ndp #votetanille #cdnpoli #universalbasicincome #wealthtax
"These people are victims!"
Yeah buddy, no recipient has ever said that. Oh and ps...people are paying taxes for a broken system plus the full cost and opportunity costs of poverty and insecurity right. now.
Basic income, in both the guaranteed and universal models, drop the uncertainties. Your account doesn't close, making you always better off. This is why the name "basic".
Basic income is the foundation. It's where you start. Above that, you can build.
With how long it takes to return to benefits if things go wrong, this is a huge disincentive.
Welfare, by having conditions and restrictions, worries recipients that they will lose the whole account by accidentally hitting a tripwire by either earning too much or some other unknown thing.
Alt:
People walking slowly (blurred)
Text:Both welfare and basic income give out cash, but it's how they do it that is a major difference.
Welfare was built for a working world long gone. The update to a more versatile and responsive model is long overdue.
That includes taxing land values and not human effort,.something they cant hide offshore
That includes a UBI dividend on the efforts that got us here.
A human centered economy
The system default is to tell you to do the heavy lifting.
Demand system change.
Demand we benefit from
the world we and our ancestors built.
Persons with disabilities endure clawbacks
despite below poverty incomes
Ai? You should reskill and future proof yourself.
Meanwhile costs, rentierism, stagnant wages, and rising homelessness? That's systemic.
Alt text:
Video of me driving.
Captions:
We say you should recycle
We tax your effort, your property
We say you should watch your carbon footprint
Production and labour compensation decoupled in 1971.
The Keynesian model broke in 1975.
The neoliberal model broke in 2008.
We can't paper straw our way to better.
Its time for the economy to grow up.
