← Feed

Posts

• View post

  Fear of women divorcing men helped kill passage of basic income law back in the 1970s. Not only was that conclusion in error, but it turned out it improved relationships. Since then, the evidence has only deepened that the power to exit it provides leads to better relationships and far less abuse. #UBI https://scottsantens.substack.com/p/basic-income-divorce-evidence

• View post

  It's Tax Day so it's time to dive into why Democrats should not be pushing for a larger standard deduction and should instead be pushing to replace it with a fully refundable $4,500 standard credit that can be received monthly (a small $375/mo #UBI) in advance like the 2021 expanded child tax credit. https://open.substack.com/pub/scottsantens/p/democrats-deduction-problem-standard-tax-credit?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=avhi

• View post

  "Every human deserves the basic security to live a good life, and to have a safe floor from which to launch themselves as high as they wish to go, free from drudgery and lack." Quote by a signer of the AI Pledge for Humanity in support of universal basic income https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/the-ai-pledge-for-humanity #UBI

• View post

  UBI is a human right. It became one the moment public land became private property. If you only get something in compensation for that loss if your income is low, your right is infringed. If you only get certain approved services, your right is still infringed. A right is UNIVERSAL + UNCONDITIONAL https://www.scottsantens.com/the-spaceballs-argument-for-unconditional-universal-basic-income-ubi/

• View post

  Don't be thrown by the name of the show. It's a nod to the myths that shape life in America. I was invited to debunk the myths that surround UBI, like how people would stop working and how it costs too much and inflation would skyrocket. These are myths. The truth is that #UBI is power to the People. https://youtu.be/Y4f_47LfLsY?is=rqQYnERrRxUNMklq

• View post

  I think the best possible new tax to implement alongside universal basic income is a land value tax because it would also solve the landlord problem and make housing more affordable. In the US, this UBI layer should be implemented locally and exist in addition to other layers alongside other taxes. https://open.substack.com/pub/scottsantens/p/land-value-tax-dividend-ubi #UBI #LVT

• View post

  Happy Independence Day! After 250 years, I think it's time we live up to our founding ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There is no life without the ability to afford it, no liberty without the power to say no, and no happiness with unmet basic needs. UBI makes our ideals real.

• View post

  One way to go about universal basic income is to pair it with a consumption tax. This could be in the form of a value-added tax as all OECD nations but us already use, or in the form of a tiny transaction tax on all electronic payments like how Visa/MC work. I consider this as another layer for UBI. https://scottsantens.substack.com/p/fund-universal-basic-income-consumption-tax-vat

• View post

  New article where I propose we make corporations issue 1.5% new shares each year into a public wealth fund and then sell it all off slowly every day over the course of the year in order to convert it to cash and issue a $365 monthly dividend to every adult and child as the Great American Dividend. https://open.substack.com/pub/scottsantens/p/how-to-pay-for-ubi-stock-dilution-tax?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=avhi

• View post

  This essay has been on my mind since 2023 and I'm happy to have finally published it. It's an argument for UBI that may not resonate with many, but if it does, I hope it does strongly. I feel so much gratitude for every human who came before me, and I fight for a better future for those yet to come. https://scottsantens.substack.com/p/the-primordial-credit-argument-for #UBI

• View post

  I've made this argument repeatedly, but I felt the need to try and make it definitively this time. Yes, universal basic income should be universal by even including billionaires like Elon. Here are all the reasons why universality is superior to means testing. https://scottsantens.substack.com/p/the-universality-argument-for-basic-income-ubi #UBI

• View post

  Myth: Universal Basic Income is a magnet for the idle. In reality, it's the catalyst for unleashed potential. Visualize a world where your next meal isn't your next worry. That world is one giant leap closer to solving the puzzles of poverty and unleashing collective brilliance.

• View post

  We constructed poverty as we know it. Poverty is a legal status imposed on those excluded from legal access to the needs of life. It is economic injustice. It is a weapon built to fear. Poverty is a Death Star. Happy Star Wars Day and May the 4th be with UBI! https://www.scottsantens.com/may-the-force-be-with-ubi-unconditional-universal-basic-income-poverty-death-star/

• View post

  Preliminary results from the Denver Basic Income Project that's providing cash to hundreds of unhoused people for one year, using the first 6 months of data: • NO ONE receiving $1,000/mo still sleeping outside • Full-time employment increased • Fewer visits to the ER • Fewer nights spent in jail • Reduced use of social and public services Read the full report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gqtOfZG2sSanWgUdzn-lx-pwSXZKabj-/view?pli=1

• View post

  Concerned about fertility rates and want more people to have more kids? This ain't rocket science. Make kids more affordable to have. Do a universal basic income that includes kids. Do universal healthcare. Do universal childcare. Also, just do more in general to make the future look bright vs dim. https://youtube.com/shorts/1eI4TR8AS-8?si=gWwKWKx_4Wx71xxj Link to full episode: https://youtu.be/zdakSyxu75w?si=U1UFP2GxvG8lip9E Link to cited article: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect...

• View post

  This was a fun one for me to write. It's the Angine de Poitrine argument for universal basic income. We could have more weird, awesome, truly human stuff like this if we all had UBI. We could have more Einsteins too. And because those things are true, the cost of NOT doing #UBI isn't worth it. https://open.substack.com/pub/scottsantens/p/the-angine-de-poitrine-argument-for-ubi?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=avhi

• View post

  We should have started a universal basic income back in 1975, and it should have grown this entire time in line with national productivity growth. My latest: https://ieet.substack.com/p/universal-basic-income-the-dividend?triedRedirect=true #UBI

• View post

  We don't know what impact AI will have on productivity in our immediate future but Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the only way to share AI and productivity gains with EVERYONE, and it needs to be everyone because we all trained it with our data/work and funded its development with public dollars. https://scottsantens.substack.com/p/universal-basic-income-is-your-productivity