Join Greg Carlwood of The Higherside Chats podcast as he talks Universal Basic Income with his guest, Scott Santens.
An important piece to the conspiracy puzzle is finding solutions to problems long identified. Instead of grandiose ideas of a technocratic utopia and pipe dream paradigms of exotic technologies firmly locked behind the gates of possibility for decades, moderator of the Basic Income community of Reddit, Scott Santens walks us through real, practical solutions we can fight for now.
Greg and Scott walk through viable options for providing maximum optionality, circumventing the debt based system of rule and breaking the chains of economic slavery using something within our grasp.
2:24 Greg and Scott begin by helping to define the concept of a Universal Basic Income. Given on an individual level, the basic income is an unconditional, separate and permanent income stream meant to help pay for basic needs of citizens. As Scott explains, to be considered a basic income, the amount must cover the essentials, and usually hovers near the poverty line.
6:45 Addressing one of the most prominent criticisms, Greg and Scott help set the record straight about the "welfare for all" myth. Scott elaborates on the concept that under our current system, welfare pays people to do nothing, but basic income would pay people to do anything. With poverty cliffs disincentivizing people to work and fear they may have to forfeit their benefits, Scott explains how Finland is using the basic income model to grow the job markets.
14:20 While some may still have a hard time conceptualizing the finer details associated with the basic income, the great white state Alaska, serves as a case study after having implemented a similar system for residents. Since 1982, residents have been receiving dividend payments from a state-controlled investment fund. As Scott points out, Alaska has been able to turn a non-renewable resource into a permanent, renewable source of income, securing it's post as a leader among states with residents with the highest well-being, the lowest overall poverty levels, and lowest wealth inequality.
24:50 Greg and Scott discuss how a