2021 - The Year of Basic Income Pilots
UBI like crypto is becoming more popular.
The concept of a "universal basic income" has inspired widespread interest in recent years. I’m not alone in being fascinated by it.
What will be more revolutionary for the 21st century, blockchain or universal basic income experiments?
As wealth inequality, evictions, inflation and the dire consequences of a global pandemic take shape, UBI seems stronger than ever. New pilots are popping up all over the place including:
As GenZ ushers in a new era of inclusion, more female politicians are leading also to more UBI experiments.
You can find a list of many of the UBI municipal experiments in the U.S. here. Canada’s (“CRB”) benefits during the pandemic were so generous some believe it was a precursor to some kind of a national UBI program. The problem was of course how expensive it was.
The findings of many of the pilot projects is that a UBI can help people engage with starting a business, becoming self-employed or getting training needed to move forwards professionally. People seem to rarely abuse the opportunity.
More economists and lawmakers, including a coalition of US mayors, have been calling for the introduction of UBI schemes as the pandemic both exacerbated and exposed huge income inequalities. We need to think about how we can actively deal with the rising costs of wealth inequality on our system.
The U.S. while not a leader in adoption, have a track record of such experiments. Stockton, California, ran a UBI scheme for two years which gave 125 residents $500 per month. After just a year, full-time employment among the participants had increased, and depression and anxiety had decreased, according to the results of the scheme.
There will be more Andrew Yangs. When former US presidential candidate Andrew Yang announced that a UBI program of $1,000 direct payments to citizens every month would be the keystone policy of his platform, he drew an unexpected amount of grassroots support in a crowded primary year. As some of the Middle class is displaced into the lower class, people will begin to take notice. Young people and seniors already have.
UBI is also for people who fall between the cracks and may not be in a position to continue to look for a job with caregiving responsibilities. Nika Soon-Shiong, a co-director of the Compton, California, guaranteed income program Compton Pledge, says basic income programs help people who are typically shut out of welfare programs.
UBI has a long history in of many on-going experiments and 2021 has certainly been a year of greater Municipal adoption of pilots. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Casino Dividend in North Carolina has been giving tribal members annual funds since 1997, for instance. Alaska has been paying residents out of its oil dividends since 1982. Canada ran basic income experiments in the 1970s. The general idea of providing people with a universal basic income is itself hundreds of years of old.
UBI is believed to also stimulate local economies in more sustainable ways. I will be updating this Newsletter on a more consistent basis in 2022.