Scott Santens

Scott Santens

@scottsantens.com

826

Posts

Unconditional/Universal #BasicIncome (#UBI) advocate with a crowdfunded basic income floor (http://patreon.com/scottsantens)

Founder & President, ITSAfoundation.org

Author of Let There Be Money: https://amzn.to/30sCdCc

Read my UBI FAQ: scottsantens.com

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A Universal Basic Income would help reduce poverty and inequality while improving health and wellbeing. It could become a cornerstone of a social security system that offers safety and dignity to everyone. #VoteScottishGreens

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Human art is currently better quality than AI art, but is less profitable to produce and so is valued less by the market, because market value doesn't track quality. Even if AI art never gets beyond mediocrity, this and other AI problems will persist and will demand a basic income solution.

When folks argue that a Universal Basic Income would deter working, think about those million-dollar CEOs. If a modest $15k is enough to make one quit working, wouldn’t multi-million dollar packages make CEOs practically comatose? Yet, here they are, still CEOing. Weird isn't it?

Universal basic income means that everyone gets money. Those who get more in UBI than pay in higher taxes will spend it in businesses like grocery stores and restaurants, which then in turn becomes the wages for the workers at those businesses who would get their paychecks in addition to their UBI.

Why do we celebrate entrepreneurs for chasing passive income but condemn the idea of universal basic passive income as making people lazy? Both strategies aim for financial security without daily work. Let's normalize a financial floor for everyone, not just the investment-savvy with enough capital.

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This is honestly the biggest reason I'm still hopeful of the future. Cause if we can get Universal Basic Income this is gonna be so much easier to do! Not to even mention the rest of good It will do!

And spoiler in that but, it’s not gonna be at the ballot box. It’s gonna on the streets, and in front of their offices. It’s gonna be by making their every waking moment while in office a living hell. Have fun with that.

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Basic income would give people the most important freedom: the freedom of deciding for themselves what they want to do with their lives. Rutger Bregman, Dutch journalist, writer and historian

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It's not rocket science, or even politics, it's basic math Basic income is proven to reduce the costs of healthcare and crime When people have their basic needs met they get the breathing room they need to become the best version of themselves We need to take care of everyone

It's nuts, let's try making sure everyone has their basic needs met instead, maybe? Then they won't have to do crimes in the first place and we'll be able to cut police and prison services and save billions, all while helping people have a better life 🤷‍♀️

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Repeatedly arresting and jailing people for sleeping outdoors: Could we just skip straight to giving them a place to live? (Not a jail cell.) The cost of the arrests and jail stays also raises the alternative of basic income, which could be cheaper in the long run.

It's wild how many people accept the idea of 8 hours of work, 8 hours of leisure, and 8 hours of sleep each day as somehow ideal as if handed down on stone tablets. That wasn't always the norm, and we can do better. It's time for four 8-hour days or five 6-hour days plus universal basic income.

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Dear Samsung, I don't want a "new AI experience." I want children to have free lunch, I want homes for the homeless, I want Jan 6 rioters locked up, I want a president born in the 70s/80s, I want reproductive freedom, I want equality, I want UBI, I want clean air, water, and a steady climate, I want

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While I think it would be helpful, I would've preferred it be UBI & offered to a lot more people. 📰Adam Schiff proposes guaranteed basic income pilot program for Medicaid recipients to cut federal health spending basicincometoday.com/adam-schiff-... #GBI #basicincome #UBI #medicaid #pilotprograms

Adam Schiff proposes guaranteed basic income pilot program for Medicaid recipients to cut federal health spendingbasicincometoday.com As Americans struggle with rising costs, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. is making a pitch to help put more dollars in some of the lowest income Americans while cutting costs of federal healthcare spending...

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Recommendation for readers wishing we could escape today's world: Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard Starts out lovely-- bunch of stressed-out politicians leave for vacation. I was braced for the inevitable betrayal/disaster until I realized it wasn't coming. An optimistic vision, with UBI!

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Shocking. Caregivers deserved to be paid. The fact they're not is because too many politicians have been bought and sold by big money. And that needs to end now. Get money out of politics Make the ultra rich pay taxes Ensure everyone lives with dignity with a UBI

Life as an unpaid carer in the UK: ‘I feel unseen and unheard – and politicians don’t offer much’www.theguardian.com A daughter who gave up full-time work to help look after her mother reveals her emotional and financial struggle

Fresh results from yet another successful basic income pilot. This time in Baltimore where 200 young parents received $1k/mo. After one year compared to control: Employment rates ⬆️ Incomes from work ⬆️ College and trade school ⬆️ Living with parents ⬇️ www.guaranteedincomeworks.org/data-from-ba...

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Universal Basic Income WORKS

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This is interesting! The Irish Government is running a Basic Income pilot that began in September 2022. 2000 artists and cultural workers will receive a weekly unconditional income of €325 weekly for a period of three years. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSkg...

What could a UBI do for my Union?www.youtube.com An enlightening discussion exploring the potential benefits of Universal Basic Income (UBI) for trade unions and their members. A dialogue about how UBI coul...

We can divide problems into two types: money problems and other problems. Universal basic income will not solve all problems, nor will it solve all money problems, but it will solve a lot of money problems for a lot of people. It's then so much easier to fix the remaining problems.

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AI company executives asking creative folks "if there was no money in it, would you still make art?" We do that, anyway, fool. If you gave us any shot at a UBI subsidy, we would make so much art. And it would all be worthwhile!

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A universal basic income would be even better than unemployment insurance and the current patchwork of safety net programs, but read the article about why unemployment benefits should probably be more generous—and also why they should help you quit an awful job, not just catch folks who are laid off

www.vox.com/future-perfe... "Boosting UI [Unemployment Insurance] generosity doesn’t affect overall employment rates one way or the other. Instead of loafing around in subsidized unemployment, more generous benefits can support people to quit their jobs in search of better ones"

What if quitting your terrible job would help the economy?www.vox.com Should people who quit get unemployment benefits?

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This story may be about honesty, but it is also about one of the core ideals of UBI Note that Hadjer Al-Ali has already started to arrange for a place to live and has already received employment offers This is what UBI is about, giving people the opportunity www.rawstory.com/tens-of-thou...

Tens of thousands collected for 'honest' Dutch homeless manwww.rawstory.com An online campaign has raised more than 34,000 euros for a homeless man in Amsterdam who turned in a wallet stuffed with 2,000 euros in cash to police.The 33-year-old Hadjer Al-Ali said his life had b...

New ITSA Foundation newsletter out today for June. Discover the top headlines about universal basic income you may have missed with quick summaries and links. itsanewsletter.beehiiv.com/p/itsa-newsl...

Universal Basic Income enables everyone to buy a pair of boots with straps.

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Regarding 3: A UBI would end indentured servitude for so many people, who would be freed to go and look for a better job, that it could be the cheapskate corporate employers who are fighting the UBI idea the hardest.

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There are always going to be people who game the system, but any amount of damage they cause pales in comparison to the amount of damage that continues to happen to everyone we fail to assist. UBI should 100% be happening and we should be taxing the rich to do it.

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Goldstein the Hon

No, but seriously, UBI is good and smart and I am a supporter of it. And recommend following Scott Santens if you are too.

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Anyone who thinks wages are more dignified than a universal basic income has probably had a charmed working life. There is nothing dignified about shitty wages, lack of breaks, overwork, harassment & bullying, burn-out, or the moral injury of working without sufficient resources to do a decent job.

These people have an impoverished idea of what dignity means. For a start, if you’re incapable of work because of disability, are you leading an undignified life? We all rely on other human beings. We’re a social species. It’s just the bonds of reliance look different at different times of life.

Why do we idolize the overworked lifestyle? Proud to have 3 jobs and work 70 hours? Imagine a world where universal basic income gives you the freedom to pursue your passions without the constant stress of making ends meet. Work becomes a choice for growth, not just survival. Isn't that the dream?

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I have an idea. Let's try UBI for a while and see if artists stop creating. Just for funsies. I double dog dare them.

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Anyway let’s fucking try it. UBI that’s enough to live in reasonable comfort, see if people suddenly completely stop doing anything useful with their time to the point that society collapses. It won’t. I dare anyone to prove me wrong.