Bliss Broyard: An Intimate Look at Basic Income Recipients in Stockton
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
We have heard much about the basic income trial in Stockton, CA, and finally got some aggregate statistics earlier this year. These averages and other global reports are an important part of the story, but the actual experience of receiving unconditional cash is unique to each person. That becomes readily apparent through the in-depth profiles of five recipients, published by Bliss Broyard in New York Magazine. Broyard joined the podcast to reflect on her reporting and the lives she documented.
Morgan Harper: Running for Congress in Ohio on Universal Income
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
While Andrew Yang has brought basic income to the national stage, we are seeing more and more state and local politicians exploring the idea as well. One of them is Morgan Harper, who is seeking to represent Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District. Harper is running on a number of transformative policies, including universal childcare, Medicare for all, and universal income. She joined the podcast to discuss her campaign, challenging an incumbent from the same party, and her take on basic income.
Sukhi Samra: Early Results From The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) has drawn national attention as a modern basic income trial. Recently, we got the first reports from basic income recipients there, who are receiving $500 a month for 18 months. The results back up a lot of what we’ve already seen from cash transfer trials, but we also have some powerful stories of personal transformation, enabled by the extra cash. These stories provide compelling first hand accounts of what a little economic security can do. Sukhi Samra, Director of SEED, joined the podcast to talk about what we’ve seen so far in Stockton.
Workers Strength Fund: Providing financial security to precarious American workers
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
For most of the late 20th century, having a job provided you with enough financial security to live a decent life in the United States. But today, millions of American workers are living in extreme precarity, just one emergency expense away from financial destitution. A new initiative called the Workers Strength Fund is aiming to combat this problem using unconditional cash. Jim spoke with Lead Product Advisor Rachel Schneider, Melissa Gopnik from Commonwealth, and Betsy Edasery from The Workers Lab about how this initiative works and what impact it’s having on people’s lives.
As a reminder, you can support our work at the Basic Income Podcast by visiting glow.fm/basicincome.
If we were to fund a basic income of $1,000 a month with a wealth tax, a carbon tax, some program consolidation and deficit spending, how much would your bank account increase or decrease after your income and current government assistance are factored in? A new project, the UBI Calculator (ubicalculator.com), seeks to answer this question down to the dollar for many of the UBI plans being proposed today. The project’s creator, Conrad Shaw, joined the podcast to discuss the UBI Calculator and why he built it.
Basic Income Q&A: Paying for it, Inflation, and the Path Forward
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Recently we reached out to our audience asking for questions on basic income. This episode takes on three big ones: will rent and other costs increase, eating up the benefits of the UBI? How could a basic income fit into a national budget with other competing priorities such as single-payer healthcare and free community college? How might we forge a path to a national basic income?
As a reminder, you can support our work at the Basic Income Podcast by visiting glow.fm/basicincome.
Robert Stayton: Could Solar Dividends Provide a Basic Income?
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Robert Stayton proposes an outside-the-box idea for how to provide both ample clean energy and a basic income on the local, state or national level: solar dividends. This proposal would leverage the abundance of available solar energy with the regulatory ability to increase the price at which solar energy is purchased into the grid. To read more about Stayton’s proposal and the book that details it further, go to solardividends.org.
In this discussion episode, Jim lays out his ideas on how we should think about basic income in relation to other benefit programs like unemployment insurance and the Earned Income Tax Credit. We get into topics like whether basic income should count as taxable income, and the difference between the social safety net and the social contract.
Also, we now have a new way you can support the podcast! To donate to support our operational costs, and, if we reach a certain level, to promote the podcast, go to https://glow.fm/basicincome.
Jhumpa Bhattacharya: The Racial Wealth Gap and Basic Income Policy Design
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Basic income has been heralded as a policy that can partially address racial inequities in our economy and social benefit system, but how would the goals of racial equity inform basic income policy? Jhumpa Bhattacharya of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development joins the podcast to discuss this issue, and the vital importance of countenancing our racial history as we design future economic policy.
Max Ghenis: Evaluating Today's Basic Income Policies
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
As basic income gains more recognition and interest, new proposals and ideas for what a basic income should look like are starting to emerge. While these proposals are occasionally studied on a one-off basis, the basic income conversation didn’t necessarily have a single hub where one could evaluate policies side by side. The UBI Center, founded by Max Ghenis, seeks to change that by providing economic breakdowns of leading basic income proposals. Max joined the podcast to discuss his work, what motivates it, and his evaluation of Andrew Yang’s Freedom Dividend.
Rutger Bregman, Author of Utopia for Realists (rebroadcast)
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
A conversation with Rutger Bregman, author of Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income, Open Borders and a 15-Hour Workweek. We discuss what brought him to the basic income movement, some historical basic income experiments, and how a basic income could benefit his home country of the Netherlands. This was one of our first episodes and originally aired in September of 2016.
Dr. Evelyn Forget on Mincome and Basic Income in Canada (Rebroadcast)
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Canada’s basic income trials in trials in the 70s – the “Mincome” experiments – were largely forgotten until Dr. Evelyn Forget found records of the Mincome trials and individuals who had received a basic income. She discusses what she found, and the implications for Canada’s upcoming trials in Ontario. This episode originally aired in May of 2017.
Why is Interest in Basic Income Surging? (Rebroadcast)
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Three years ago, few people had even heard of universal basic income. Now interest is growing across the country, and the idea is getting more exposure and support. What led to this shift? Owen and Jim delve into many of the factors at play, and discuss how we can take advantage of this moment. This episode originally aired in August of 2017.
Roy Bahat, Head of Bloomberg Beta, on Innovation and Basic Income (Rebroadcast)
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Roy Bahat, Head of Bloomberg Beta, discusses the future of employment and why a universal basic income could spur innovation. He also discusses the mental leaps it requires to wrap our minds around the basic income, and what we can do to help others to make those leaps. This episode originally aired January, 2017.
A Step Forward for Basic Income in the U.K. feat. Jamie Cooke
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Recently John McDonnell, shadow chancellor of the U.K.’s Labour Party announced that he would like to see state-funded basic income trials when the Labour Party returns to power. This has triggered an active discussion on basic income in the Labour Party and throughout the United Kingdom. Jamie Cooke, Head of RSA Scotland came back on the Basic Income Podcast to discuss these developments and where things might go from here.
Basic Income and Cash Dividends at the First Democratic Presidential Debate
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
On June 26th and 27th, the first Democratic Presidential debates were held in Miami, Florida. The debates gave basic income-focused Andrew Yang a national platform, and several other candidates pushed ideas such as a carbon dividend or expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit that would put more cash in people’s hands. Owen and Jim discuss the debates and how the politics of the moment is shaping these conversations.
Cash Transfers for Low Income Expecting Mothers, feat. Zea Malawa
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Expecting Justice, a program out of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, is spearheading a cash transfer program for low income expecting mothers, with a focus on Black and Pacific Islander women. Dr. Zea Malawa, who is leading the initiative, joined the podcast to discuss the rationale behind the pilot and how cash transfers can be cost-effective from a healthcare perspective.
If you’d like to support this initiative, you can contact Dr. Malawa by email at zea.malawa@sfdph.org.
A Proposed Social Wealth Fund in Maryland, feat. Del. Gabriel Acevero
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Maryland Delegate Gabriel Acevero is leading the charge for the creation of a social wealth fund in his state. This fund, which would be seeded with revenue from medical cannabis, would eventually pay out dividends and potentially other benefits to Marylanders, with the goal of becoming a universal basic income over time. Del. Acevero joined the podcast to talk about his proposal and the role of racial justice in social benefit programs.
Basic Income Q&A: Taxes, Wages and Systemic Change
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
We reached out to you for your questions on basic income and you wrote in with many excellent ones. In this Q&A, Owen and Jim discuss whether basic income would be taxable, how a UBI could affect wages and employee bargaining power, and whether basic income could eventually lead to systemic change in other realms. Reach out on Facebook and Twitter if you have more questions about universal basic income.
Expanding Social Security & Other Programs into a Basic Income
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Recently an article in Fast Company proposed reaching a basic income by expanding social security. Owen and Jim dive into the pros and cons of that approach for social security, the earned income tax credit (EITC), child tax credit and carbon dividend. Each has advantages to offer and issues to overcome on the policies themselves and the political narratives behind them.
