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
New on Vocal: Why We Need Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and Why It Needs Universal Basic Income (UBI)
Also available to listen to in podcast form
It's published!!! At just shy of 14,000 words, my latest article is the closest thing to writing a book that I've done so far. Despite its length, it's still meant to be readable like an enjoyable book, and not a heavy academic slog that no one will read. I hope readers will agree.
I've long avoided . . .
Posted in: analogyautomationbullshit jobscostdebtevidencefunding methodsmoneymotivationproductivitysciencespendingunpaid laborvoluntary labor
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 . . .
New on Medium: "Think Like a Martian about Money and UBI"
I've just published a new feature-length article over on Medium where I get into the concept of money and what UBI is all about from the perspective of an alien being not of this Earth: "Think Like a Martian About Money and Universal Basic Income (UBI)". It's also actually the text of the keynote speech I gave in . . .
Posted in: mediummoneytranscript
Unconditional Basic Income Would Fix a Major Flaw in Markets
Markets can't tell the difference between a lack of demand and a lack of ability to express demand
Do you like markets? Well, whether you like them or not, they're pretty effective in most cases. The ability for two people to make an exchange where both feel they leave the exchange better off than prior to the exchange is a powerful thing. It's a form of democracy. By exchanging money for goods and services, people in markets are . . .
Basic Income and Soylent
Vouchers prevent choices. UBI creates choices.
Many of you reading this already know this, but for those who don't, I have a crowdfunded basic income. This means that I start every month with $1,000 as my absolute minimum for the month no matter what. I'm free to then earn any amount on top of that $1,000, but I never earn less than that in any given month. That's a basic . . .
Humanity Needs Universal Basic Income in Order to Stop Impeding Human Progress
My latest article on HuffPost Politics
I published a new article yesterday on HuffPost Politics that they actually put on the front page of The Huffington Post. It's called "Humanity Needs Universal Basic Income in Order to Stop Impeding Progress".
Excerpt:
Putting humans out of work should be a public relations win, not a loss, and so mankind . . .
Posted in: automationbullshit jobshuffington postmoneyproductivitytechnological unemploymentunionsvoluntary labor
The Disproportionate Effects of a Universal Basic Income
Can UBI function as reparations?
One very interesting but not so easy to understand element of universal basic income is how it disproportionately helps traditionally marginalized groups more than anyone else.
That sentence alone may be confusing. If everyone gets the same amount, how can one group benefit more than another group? Isn't the result really just . . .
