Universal basic income (or UBI) is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement.

The 21st Century
Joined April 2009
Basic Income retweeted
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Basic Income retweeted
Summer reads: Basic Income, The Policy That Changes Everything. This book expertly makes the case for why we need basic income, it creates certainty and security in people's lives, improves health outcomes and reduces poverty. #UBI #BasicIncome
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Basic Income retweeted
Iowa banned basic income even when the evidence unequivocally showed that it helped people secure jobs, start businesses, and keep food on the table. 7 Republicans voted against the ban -- a clear display of cross-partisan support. Incredibly thoughtfully written piece by Iowa State Rep. @LevinforIowa: "When debating the bill to ban guaranteed income before it had a chance to be tested, some of my colleagues claimed people would stop working. Not only do the UpLift pilot results prove them wrong, but the results show an unfortunately harsh reality: getting and keeping a good job costs money. Training and certification costs money, transportation to work costs money, professional clothes for an interview cost money — and taking a day off from one job to interview for a better one costs more than many Iowans can risk. Guaranteed income helped working families close that gap — and keep food on the table and heat in the home in the process." "One UpLift participant described how she and her husband even used the funds to start businesses that meet local neighbors’ needs. “It’s not just about a single household. When I look at what we were able to do, we were able to fund two businesses, we were able to help our children. So it’s not just our household, but we have reached our community.” "There is bipartisan support for this approach. Seven of my Republican colleagues joined Democrats in voting against the ban." "It’s not just the morally right thing to do, it’s how we save Iowa’s future — by investing in the hardworking, innovative people who make this their home." thegazette.com/opinion/lawma…
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I took part in a formal debate yesterday about how to respond to automation, with universal basic income or $50,000 jobs for anyone who wants one. The recording of it is now available on my YouTube channel. Spoiler: The judges determined Team UBI won. youtube.com/watch?v=MxtrqZJo…
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Sad news today. Marshall Brain has died. His book Manna was the catalyst for beginning my UBI advocacy back in 2013. We met in 2015 at my first basic income conference. My condolences to his family and friends. My gratitude for what he added to humanity. newsvital.com.ng/ncsu-death-…
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Doug Ford: $200 for everyone! Justin Trudeau: $250 but only for those who reported earnings of less than $150k because I insist on means-testing to make people feel excluded and angry. Also a temporary holiday sales tax break for certain items. Me: 🤦‍♂️ apnews.com/article/trudeau-c…
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Without a Universal Basic Income, the United States could face a major crisis. AI and robotics are advancing so quickly that many American jobs are already being replaced, and this trend is only going to grow. People don’t realize how close we are to a future where most jobs could disappear. Think about the possibility of AI reaching Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) in the next five years and Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) shortly after that. Now imagine humanoid robots that are stronger, faster, more precise, and more flexible than humans. If these robots are powered by that superintelligent AI, they would essentially have a “brain” that makes them capable of outperforming humans in almost every way. These super-intelligent, super-capable robots would be able to do almost any job better than a human could, and they would cost less than paying human workers. One single robot in a household could be your family's mechanic, handyman, plumber, baby sitter, chef, Heating/AC repairman (Although AC's themself would likely be self-reparing). The only jobs that might survive are the ones that require a human connection or emotional understanding. Without something like Universal Basic Income to help people survive this transition, millions of Americans could end up unemployed and without support, all while the GDP of America increases exponentially. This is a serious issue, and we need to start preparing for it now before it’s too late.
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Workers: Let's talk about basic income.
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Feed the hungry.🍇 Clothe the naked.👕 Help the needy.🤝 UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME NOW.💰
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"There is, in fact, a free banquet, of which every rich person daily partakes. It is long past time they invited the rest of us." George Scialabba on the case for a universal basic income: commonwealmagazine.org/free-…
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Basic Income retweeted
I think the takeaway here is that a single $1200 direct payment had a tremendous, tangible impact on the average person’s life. We would be in a much better place if Democrats had the courage to seriously push something like universal basic income.
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Basic Income Grant Coalition of Namibia protested against the government’s proposed basic income grant on Saturday. They say the grant excludes most of the population. To qualify, households must meet income levels below N$1600. Read the full article here: buff.ly/3V1YJLd
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Canada's National Advisory Council on Poverty has, for the first time, explicitly recommended basic income! canada.ca/en/employment-soci…
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The world is in crisis, socially, ecologically, and economically. The economy must provide sustainable welfare to stay within planetary boundaries - UBI and UBS show us the way. Read the full article here: buff.ly/3Zb6i4y
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What has Ireland's #BasicIncome for the arts achieved in 26 months? Deepdive coming up on December 4th with input from @Basic Income Ireland , @UBILabLeeds & @UBILabArts zurl.co/sIvt
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At an official side event today, together with our friends at Cool Earth & GiveDirectly we discussed our plans to collaborate and grow our work on a Basic Income for Conservation, ensuring unconditional cash can be scaled up as a real solution for climate justice! – at Azerbaijan
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Finland's basic income trial increased employment AND voter turnout.
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Patrick Frawley shares how the direct cash assistance helped him pay rent in Denver. 🏘️
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Universal basic income (UBI) is needed
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Yeahhh we need UBI (universal basic income) ASAP Maybe being an engineer didn’t turn out to be that bad of a decision after all 😅
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