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
Does Guaranteeing a Basic Income Reduce Income Inequality?
Lessons from the Gini Index
Universal Basic Income (UBI) directly reduces income inequality.
I've actually written an as yet unpublished chapter for a book about this very topic, and am working on an article about this as well.
Here are two preliminary findings from what I'm still working on:
(For a quick primer on the Gini index, how . . .
The Big Easy was noted for its low quality of life... Stop right there.
A response to Economic Innovation in New New Orleans
This is in response to the article "Economic Innovation in the 'New' New Orleans":
"Only a decade ago, the Big Easy was noted for its poor business climate, low quality of life..."
Woah, woah, woah... stop right there.
I think you're confusing quality of life with average . . .
Wouldn’t Unconditional Basic Income Just Cause Massive Inflation?
An answer to the response to the answer to the growing question of the 21st century
Read the article I published on Medium on November 24, 2014.
Summary: By far, the most common concern in regards to my first article on Medium about the idea of an unconditional basic income was that all prices would inevitably go up as a result, immediately reducing the value of each dollar and essentially creating a new zero. This . . .
Google Hangout with Me and Marlen Vargas Del Razo of Living Income Guaranteed
Video: Basic Income as Basic Resources
I was asked by Marlen Vargas Del Razo of Living Income Guaranteed to join her for a Live Google Hangout today about the topic of basic income as basic resources.
You can watch the video here:
For more info about what was discussed here are some follow up links:
"What do we do about bad examples like this one?"
The question of Shanesha Taylor and how she spent her $114,000
In response to the following news article: “The money is gone!” Teary mugshot drew $114K in donations, but prosecutors have taken back their deal
This is actually a good example of why basic income should be basic and unconditional, and not that basic income is a bad idea.
First of all, Shanesha received a one time lump sump . . .
The Federal Reserve Just Published a Paper Comparing UBI and UI
And the model it used is hugely flawed
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis just released a November 2014 report comparing universal basic income and unemployment insurance, to determine which is better under varying conditions.
Before I go into their findings and how they arrived at their conclusion, here's their conclusion:
Conclusion
In this . . .
"Fit for Work and Fit to Die": A Memorial for the Means-Tested
True Stories from "There Had to Be a Better Way Than This"
It may sound like common sense to some, or even many, to expect someone to do work in exchange for benefits. But this force, as is true with any applied force, has its consequences - both intended and unintended.
A fellow human being who has witnessed these results first hand recently published a paper titled There Had to Be a Better . . .
