We know how to solve homelessness, we just don't do it. Universal #BasicIncome would greatly reduce and prevent homelessness. Land value taxes would tax land versus housing, increasing the housing supply and bringing costs down. We also need YIMBY reforms too to build more housing and lower costs.
I was listening this morning to one of @Eceni's always thought-provoking podcasts, this time on the Bristol Pound, and it reminded me of an essay I wrote:
"Money grows in society by the process of eroding generosity. It is, then, a necrotising parasite on social relationships, systematically sucking out transactions of kindness and generosity from the economy and replacing them with a winner-takes-all, zero sum game of competitive meanness.
Regardless of income, all mothers in Flint, Michigan can now receive $1,500 mid-pregnancy, followed by $500 a month of #basicincome for 12 months after their child is born. This is the most universal of any guaranteed income program so far, with zero means-testing.
Artist with #BasicIncome: "I feel myself, more than ever, a professional artist. I produce more and the output is of a better quality... Beforehand I was not really a full-time visual artist: I was part-time, which has consequences for the work. With the basic income, I can concentrate full-time on my art.”
My favorite quote from a #basicincome pilot participant in the film It's Basic:
"My friends and my colleagues and stuff hate the government. In some aspects, I agree with them. But the fact they were able to implement this $500 a month program for a hundred families and it worked, it showed that they are able to directly effect change for poor families. When you hear about how bad the government is and then they did something like this, it makes you rethink things."
Universal #BasicIncome comes from where all money comes from but many people don't understand money, think taxes are theft, don't realize Alaska has a UBI that isn't funded by income taxes, and can't imagine thinking of capital like AI paying us all a dividend as shareholders.
I've just listened to a left wing podcaster whom I really respect say "I'm going to have to work till I'm dead to make sure I can leave my kids as much as possible, so they can survive..."
No! No! No!
Work as hard as you can to achieve socialised housing – all housing, not just for 'the poor' – and a universal #BasicIncome (or better still, full #communism) so that EVERYONE'S kids can not just survive, but live gracefully.
We are about to enter year FOUR since the concept of a #BasicIncome made the news at the start of the pandemic. I see people are apparently okay with giving more of our money to the rich instead, and letting them keep it, while many others continue to suffer without the basics.
@CloudyMrs@therightarticle We could (and maybe should) start our own rural left, #LandReform party. Yes, we would probably never win a majority – rural folk are a minority in Scotland anyway – but in a proportional system it isn't necessary to win a majority to get some of your policies implemented.
It's so much easier to hate when you're constantly stressed out and barely scraping by. Seeing others get help while you don't only then makes it all worse.
This is why UNIVERSAL basic income is so important. It makes sure no one feels unseen and on their own.
"It was so so much for," she said chuckling. "So much more than nothing."
That's how April described a #basicincome of $1,000 a month. Homeless prior to the UBI, she used that money to purchase her own car, get her own apartment with the help of a voucher, and to graduate with a college degree.
Deaths of despair are a result of high inequality, social cohesion erosion, and chronic insecurity. We need to reduce insecurity and inequality, and regrow our social fabric.
A universal #basicincome floor would do so much to improve mental health and reduce deaths of despair.
Another #basicincome pilot focused on homelessness has released preliminary results after only 6 months because halfway through the experiment, it is already showing incredible effectiveness.
$750/mo for 6 months led to homelessness dropping to 12% versus 23% in the control group on a wait list.
Sure would be nice to get a Universal #BasicIncome floor in place now, before things get even crazier due to AI and robot advancements, to protect against the downsides. And we should also index the amount of UBI to GDP per capita to distribute an equal share of the upsides of AI-driven GDP growth.
Every single person deserves an unconditional basic income floor — enough money to afford food, housing, and other basic needs. Jobs should be for affording all the fun stuff beyond basic needs.
Jobs should be about discretionary income to thrive, not survival income to live.
Many therapists know what the actual problem is and support unconditional universal #basicincome because they want to fix the actual problem, even though it would mean fewer clients.
It's the interaction between demand and supply that determines what an economy produces, including its jobs. This is why it's so important to issue Universal #BasicIncome, so that the market sees everyone's basic need demands FIRST. Then the market is oriented around meeting EVERYONE's basic needs.
Without #UBI, the only people the market sees are those with wealth and those who managed to get jobs working for them, which orients the economy from the beginning on those with wealth.
So many people are having a stressful time trying to "earn a living" because they just accept that living should be earned and that national productivity growth shouldn't be shared equally and should instead flow only to a tiny few who deserve it.
But we all deserve our share.
I believe that share should be a universal #basicincome set at 25% GDP per capita.
The potential of universal #basicincome extends beyond mere economic relief; it embodies a transformative vision for society. By ensuring a baseline income, UBI empowers individuals to pursue personal and professional aspirations without the constraints of financial insecurity.
Preliminary results from the first 6 months of the #basicincome pilot in Ireland are out and artists spent 3.5 hours more per week on their art and 3 hours less doing other work (in other words 0.5 hours more work per week overall). Depression and anxiety also significantly decreased by 10%.