Stockton, CA has had a project in place for some time (since 2019, I think), and here in Chicago, where I live, we have had a small program and have a budget for another project ($7.5M in 2026). I'm working with a coalition that expects to have a voice in how it is set up, and I want to include data points consistent with other projects to help understand the impact.
I think that’s pretty cool, first off. One thing I really want to stress about this whole process, though, is that the distribution and acquisition of funds has to be handled in an innovative way. It can’t simply be money collected through taxation and current mechanisms and then pushed into people’s pockets. If UBI is ever going to work, there has to be an element of incentive built into it.
That could look like volunteering a set number of hours per month, participation in community programs, or even companies experimenting with profit-sharing or revenue-sharing models that reflect a more automated economy. The goal would be to connect UBI to contribution, engagement, and shared value creation, rather than treating it as a passive transfer.
What I was getting at in my article is that UBI is probably too early in its current framing. But if we want UBI to be viable in the future, we have to innovate the way the entire economy functions. People need purpose and dignity, and collective production needs to be distributed in a way that feels fair and transparent. Simply taxing company profits, routing everything through the government, and then redistributing it, while inviting fraud and abuse, does not get us there.
If UBI is part of a new economic system, it has to be designed alongside that system, not bolted onto the old one.
And here is why a “liberal education” may be more essential than currently popular to advocate. (You wrote we need to know “How to keep people engaged in meaningful work, craft, and contribution, even if survival is no longer tied to a job.)
I’d also like to see children raised by people who love them (instead of people who feel ego or cash driven and so leave that most important job to daycare & all-day schools).
I agree. Sending kids to school all day or having some daycare erase the kids is not optimal. I would love to see parents have the ability to have one parent stay at home and kids education be turned to less in school and more outside and practical education.
I’d like to offer another option. It’s not if or when we will have UBI, it’s that we will transition into UBI slowly. As I mentioned in my recent post - Basic Income is already here and it will become normal. It will take time for it to become Universal. https://dailycryptonews.net/p/free-money-invasion-ubi-isnt-coming
Very thoughtful and sensible. How should we cast the UBI experiments communities are currently creating?
Can you give examples? What communities and experiments?
Stockton, CA has had a project in place for some time (since 2019, I think), and here in Chicago, where I live, we have had a small program and have a budget for another project ($7.5M in 2026). I'm working with a coalition that expects to have a voice in how it is set up, and I want to include data points consistent with other projects to help understand the impact.
I think that’s pretty cool, first off. One thing I really want to stress about this whole process, though, is that the distribution and acquisition of funds has to be handled in an innovative way. It can’t simply be money collected through taxation and current mechanisms and then pushed into people’s pockets. If UBI is ever going to work, there has to be an element of incentive built into it.
That could look like volunteering a set number of hours per month, participation in community programs, or even companies experimenting with profit-sharing or revenue-sharing models that reflect a more automated economy. The goal would be to connect UBI to contribution, engagement, and shared value creation, rather than treating it as a passive transfer.
What I was getting at in my article is that UBI is probably too early in its current framing. But if we want UBI to be viable in the future, we have to innovate the way the entire economy functions. People need purpose and dignity, and collective production needs to be distributed in a way that feels fair and transparent. Simply taxing company profits, routing everything through the government, and then redistributing it, while inviting fraud and abuse, does not get us there.
If UBI is part of a new economic system, it has to be designed alongside that system, not bolted onto the old one.
And here is why a “liberal education” may be more essential than currently popular to advocate. (You wrote we need to know “How to keep people engaged in meaningful work, craft, and contribution, even if survival is no longer tied to a job.)
I’d also like to see children raised by people who love them (instead of people who feel ego or cash driven and so leave that most important job to daycare & all-day schools).
I agree. Sending kids to school all day or having some daycare erase the kids is not optimal. I would love to see parents have the ability to have one parent stay at home and kids education be turned to less in school and more outside and practical education.
As long as we get it from the tech companies who’s value we add to for free in our free time everyday I’m for it
I think that would be the best solution.
I’d like to offer another option. It’s not if or when we will have UBI, it’s that we will transition into UBI slowly. As I mentioned in my recent post - Basic Income is already here and it will become normal. It will take time for it to become Universal. https://dailycryptonews.net/p/free-money-invasion-ubi-isnt-coming
Very insightful as always! I knew i would see you in the comments. hahah
Remember remember - it's just a matter of time :) https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/12/16/marshall-islands-launches-world-s-first-blockchain-based-ubi-on-stellar-blockchain