With UBI, won't people just watch TV and play video games?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Click here to listen to this argument as a 13-minute podcast episode) [https://anchor.fm/scottsantens/episodes/The-Quentin-Tarantino-Argument-for-Universal-Basic-Income-UBI-ens0u4] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "If we give everyone basic income, people will do nothing but watch TV and play video games." I've heard and read this more times than I
Why I'm voting for Biden/Harris 2020
Because Trump needs to go, because we need campaign finance reform, and because of the potential for fully refundable tax credits and monthly stimulus checks in 2021 In 1996, at age 19, I made my first decision as a citizen of the United States as to who the next president
We need UBI because we all need money, power, and trust
Inhumanity reigns so long as we don’t trust each other with the power to choose the directions of our own lives, free of economic coercion I've written before about how besides just being a good idea with a lot of evidence-based reasons to support it, unconditional basic
My Speech at the People's Convention
On August 30, 2020, the Movement for a People's Party [https://peoplesparty.org/] held their first People's Convention [https://peoplesconvention.org/]. I was asked to give a speech alongside other invited speakers like Nina Turner, Cornel West, Marianne Williamson, and many others. The purpose of the
My Response to Steve Forbes' Opposition to Universal Basic Income
Steve Forbes recently came out against the idea of universal basic income with this video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAq1FXoy34Q] followed by this article [https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2020/08/25/a-paycheck-for-everyone-whether-you-work-or-not/] . The following is the transcript of my response which I made into my own
My Proposal for an Emergency UBI That Transitions Into a Permanent UBI
In February of 2020 I joined Mike Broihier's team for his U.S. Senate run in Kentucky [https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/andrew-yang-endorses-mike-broihier-vs-amy-mcgrath-in-kentucky-primary-1004399/] as his senior policy advisor and was tasked with the design of his UBI plan. With the economic shutdown that soon followed as a
Dennis Explains 'The Implication' of Saying No
In the third episode of the sixth season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia in 2010, the gang buys a boat. In this episode there's a scene between Mac and Dennis that provides a clear example of what is and isn't consent, and how
A Day in My Life in 2040
Recently I was asked to visualize a day in my life twenty years from now in 2040, with the assumption that we made the right decisions as a society and life is much better because of it, not just for me, but for everyone. What is a day like? I&
Why universal basic income instead of just lower taxes?
A frequently asked question [https://www.scottsantens.com/basic-income-faq] in response to universal basic income that comes mostly in response from conservatives is some variation of, "Why don't we just tax people less if we want them to have more money?" It's an entirely
Universal basic income is the recognition that racial justice and economic justice are inextricably intertwined
Hearing protestors chant in unison, “I can’t breathe,” is something that hits viscerally. It’s a call for the importance of our individual lives. We have the right to life, and we want to stay alive. George Floyd was dispossessed of the air he needed to exist. He was
