'Universal Basic Income' explained simply.
● UBI stands for Unconditional/Universal Basic Income.
● UBI is a foundational income floor. It lifts everyone up out of poverty where we all deserve to be, thus treated rightfully as a human being. UBI can use poverty-line data to do that.
Once people are up out of poverty then they can live a normal life. It isn’t idealism to ensure everyone be treated with respect as a human being, it’s normality.
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● Many people have several misunderstandings of UBI without fully comprehending it. Often UBI is mistaken as welfare which unfortunately uses damaging and 'old generation' "means-testing" methods. Those that react negatively to the idea of "nobody living in poverty" are often driven by false, sometimes even abusive or hateful, prejudices. Others repeat the same tired and debunked phrases as delay-tactics. Here Rutger Bregman shows how these notions are harmful and false:
● Universal Basic Income is feasible. There are many ways and means to fund UBI. The biggest and most important way to fund UBI is through the will of the public. To put it simply, if enough people wish to eradicate poverty, it can and will be done. Here is just one way, with links to many other ways that UBI can be done.
The question “Where does the money come from?” is nothing more than a display of misunderstanding of public demand and at worst a delay toward actual progress being made.
● There is now a big global movement around the world of advocates and supporters who are helping to push UBI forward, including well known individuals like Elon Musk, Rutger Bregman & Robert Reich. The movement has reached several millions of people through yearly thunderclaps and other avenues and in some places UBI is considered mainstream.
● In my opinion, the best person to follow for UBI updates and information is Scott Santens, who himself has a real Basic Income (the first American to have one)! Yes he is here advocating on Steemit, @ScottSantens and he is on Twitter and Reddit. We should really listen to those already experiencing life with a Basic Income. Here is Scott talking about his Basic Income.
● 2017 was the year of UBI, with programs started and tested all over the world. Several programs have already been completed. New ones are starting soon in parts of Canada, California and Scotland!
Experimental Findings
Health, wellness, stress levels
● In earlier experiments, significant improvements were found in Health/wellness, mental-health, stress reduction, improvements in nutrition and overall well-being...
Education, grades, social cohesion
● As well as significant improvements in education, school grades, mutual support and social cohesion...people even shared some of their income with friends, family, neighbors to help invest.
Reduction in Crime, Theft, and Violence
● Huge reductions in crime, theft, & domestic violence were observed... It was crucial to find out just how much a lack of UBI can cause so many problems in our current society.
Social Entrepreneurship Potential
● Evidence was also found that those receiving a basic income pooled it with friends and family, and invested it in growth projects. The motivation to begin new projects is shifted, allowing individuals to consider creating something of value and recognizing the worth of others instead of merely chasing profits and the next quick buck.
● That's just one part of why I decided to become a UBI advocate online and offline, but each day the imperative seems to increase as automation marches on and poverty and other issues skyrocket. This imperative idea has been around for many many years but is only now reaching much wider audiences. The UBI.Earth website also has tons more information and links to past study results!
Now is the best time to get involved with the movement.
(The UBI Movement Logo)
2018, and beyond.
● Many governments are running 'Pilot Studies' before implementing local programs as not everyone is highly familiar with the results of previous studies, and/or how their own unique implementation would affect the local economy.
● Some citizens however are deciding to tackle the problem now, there are even already UBI cryptocurrencies like Manna Currency: A Blockchain Platform for Universal Basic Income. There is also Duniter, Dash, Vialcoin, Viva, UBU, CirclesUBI, Swift Demand, Cicada, and several others in the works.
The potential for blockchain technology to be leveraged for good is real, and immense.
Steemit itself is already using blockchain technology to empower and uplift individuals out of poverty around the world, reading through some pages here, there are some inspirational posts from individuals sharing hopeful stories of how Steemit is dramatically changing their lives.
● In the coming weeks I will be researching more about blockchain-UBI projects and posting some articles about my views on UBI here on Steemit. Meanwhile if you wish to read the first one I'll be posting, here it is:
UBI is a moral choice, before anything else.
● I hope you consider joining us in this global movement to build a foundational income floor for all! Become an advocate, use the #BasicIncome tag on Twitter & elsewhere, and yes, right here on Steemit!
