Scott Santens
Writer and full-time advocate of unconditional basic income (UBI); Citizen of Earth and New Orleans; Bachelor of Science in Psychology; Editor of Basic Income Today
A Guide to Basic Income: Frequently Asked Questions about UBI
Unconditional Basic Income 101
Over the years I've been asked many questions about the idea of a basic income guarantee. Some are asked far more than others, and so I've made a point of writing various articles and blog posts to answer many of these questions. Whatever question you may have about basic income, please look below and see if there's a . . .
Posted in: faq
Basic Income as Liquid Infrastructure: The Bruce Lee Argument for UBI
"Be formless, shapeless, like water..."
"Be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” - Bruce Lee
When most people hear Bruce Lee's words about the . . .
An Engineering Argument for Basic Income
Utilizing fault-tolerant design in critical life support systems
This post is also available in Spanish.
Before studying engineering, if someone asked me what 1+1 is, I would have said "2." Now, I'd say "I'm pretty sure it's 2, but we'd better make it 3 just to be safe."
I originally went to college at the Colorado School of Mines to . . .
Posted in: analogypovertysecurityself-employmentsocial securitysystems thinkingtechnological unemploymentunderemployment
With UBI, won't people just watch TV and play video games?
The Tarantino Argument for Unconditional Basic Income
"If we give everyone basic income, people will do nothing but watch TV and play video games."
I've heard and read this more times than I can count over the years, and despite the evidence not supporting that concern at all, and even pointing in the opposite direction, and despite the fact that concern is . . .
My Speech at the People's Convention
In defense of human rights-based policies like UBI and reforms to restore and expand democracy like RCV
On August 30, 2020, the Movement for a People's Party held their first People's Convention. I was asked to give a speech alongside other invited speakers like Nina Turner, Cornel West, Marianne Williamson, and many others. The purpose of the People’s Convention was to discuss plans to build a new largest party in America by 2024.
. . .My Response to Steve Forbes' Opposition to Universal Basic Income
A ten-minute debunking of a half-billionaire
Steve Forbes recently came out against the idea of universal basic income with this video followed by this article. The following is the transcript of my response which I made into my own video.
Steve Forbes just released a video of him talking about how adopting a universal basic income in the US will destroy us all, so I . . .
My Proposal for an Emergency UBI That Transitions Into a Permanent UBI
In February of 2020 I joined Mike Broihier's team for his U.S. Senate run in Kentucky as his senior policy advisor and was tasked with the design of his UBI plan. With the economic shutdown that soon followed as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, this plan also incorporated an emergency UBI into it as something different than . . .
