Scott Santens
@scottsantens.com
Unconditional / Universal Basic Income (UBI) knowledge resource
Founder & CEO of UBI-focused nonprofit ITSAfoundation.org
Host of The Basic Income Show youtube.com/scottsantens
My #UBI FAQ: scottsantens.com
Contact me: linktr.ee/scottsantens
Founder & CEO of UBI-focused nonprofit ITSAfoundation.org
Host of The Basic Income Show youtube.com/scottsantens
My #UBI FAQ: scottsantens.com
Contact me: linktr.ee/scottsantens
Pinned
Scott Santens
@scottsantens.com
· Dec 5
I've been researching the idea of Unconditional Universal Basic Income since 2013. Here's a collection of findings I've compiled from various UBI experiments and studies of cash transfer programs around the world.
This will be a VERY LONG and ongoing thread focused entirely on empirical evidence. 🧵
This will be a VERY LONG and ongoing thread focused entirely on empirical evidence. 🧵
Reposted by Scott Santens
UBI is the equivalent of watering a plant so that it can survive and thrive.
We don't expect a plant to earn the right to live and grow, I don't see why that logic shouldn't also apply to humans.
We don't expect a plant to earn the right to live and grow, I don't see why that logic shouldn't also apply to humans.
February 12, 2026 at 9:02 PM
UBI is the equivalent of watering a plant so that it can survive and thrive.
We don't expect a plant to earn the right to live and grow, I don't see why that logic shouldn't also apply to humans.
We don't expect a plant to earn the right to live and grow, I don't see why that logic shouldn't also apply to humans.
Reposted by Scott Santens
Just realized, UBI could also increase volunteerism, as people wouldn't require the pay from those positions as desperately.
February 12, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Just realized, UBI could also increase volunteerism, as people wouldn't require the pay from those positions as desperately.
Universal basic income is not the ENTIRE solution. Of course we need other things too (like M4A) but it's the missing floor that can rise as GDP rises. Plus UBI will empower a lot of work, paid and unpaid, and create jobs by its spending. With that foundation we can better achieve what else we need.
February 12, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Universal basic income is not the ENTIRE solution. Of course we need other things too (like M4A) but it's the missing floor that can rise as GDP rises. Plus UBI will empower a lot of work, paid and unpaid, and create jobs by its spending. With that foundation we can better achieve what else we need.
That's great, but without UBI in place, that will also lead to higher crime rates.
marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...
marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...
The Role of Blood Plasma Donation Centers in Crime Reduction - Marginal REVOLUTION
The United States is one of the few OECD countries to pay individuals to donate blood plasma and is the most generous in terms of remuneration. The opening of a local blood plasma center represents a ...
marginalrevolution.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:14 PM
That's great, but without UBI in place, that will also lead to higher crime rates.
marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...
marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...
Reposted by Scott Santens
The Trump administration is incarcerating migrant girls in, essentially, a forced pregnancy camp.
Trump administration is sending pregnant migrant girls to South Texas shelter flagged as medically inadequate
Government sources and advocates for the children worry the goal is to concentrate them in Texas, where abortion is banned.
www.kut.org
February 12, 2026 at 4:30 PM
The Trump administration is incarcerating migrant girls in, essentially, a forced pregnancy camp.
Reposted by Scott Santens
There it is: one of the first times anyone in the Trump admin has admitted that protestors & bystanders are legally permitted to protest & document DHS activity.... Just two days ago, this same crowd spent hours claiming DHS agents have been "under attack" in MSP & beyond...
under questioning by Rand Paul, ICE officials confirm that yelling at officers is not assault and recording officers is not a crime
February 12, 2026 at 5:19 PM
There it is: one of the first times anyone in the Trump admin has admitted that protestors & bystanders are legally permitted to protest & document DHS activity.... Just two days ago, this same crowd spent hours claiming DHS agents have been "under attack" in MSP & beyond...
Remember the monthly child tax credit in 2021 that was a basic income for 40 million families for six months? One of the results of that policy was that fewer parents sold their blood plasma.
February 12, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Remember the monthly child tax credit in 2021 that was a basic income for 40 million families for six months? One of the results of that policy was that fewer parents sold their blood plasma.
In related news, universal basic income would reverse this and we know this empirically from the monthly child tax credit payment in 2021 that reduced the number of parents selling their blood plasma.
www.scottsantens.com/one-year-aft...
www.scottsantens.com/one-year-aft...
One Year After the Expiration of the Enhanced Child Tax Credit, What All Have We Learned About Its Effects?
Summary: The monthly Child Tax Credit payments did not reduce employment, but what they did do was reduce hunger and increase entrepreneurship, and if made permanent would likely generate far greater ...
www.scottsantens.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:00 PM
In related news, universal basic income would reverse this and we know this empirically from the monthly child tax credit payment in 2021 that reduced the number of parents selling their blood plasma.
www.scottsantens.com/one-year-aft...
www.scottsantens.com/one-year-aft...
Yeah, he's been a UBI advocate for years.
February 12, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Yeah, he's been a UBI advocate for years.
I can taste the sarcasm, but thanks.
February 12, 2026 at 5:45 PM
I can taste the sarcasm, but thanks.
It's more efficient to provide universally as use taxes to achieve targeting on the back end.
www.scottsantens.com/negative-inc...
www.scottsantens.com/negative-inc...
Negative Income Tax is Not Cheaper Than Universal Basic Income, Nor is Guaranteed Income 'More Progressive' by Excluding the Rich
Many people don't know this, but Milton Friedman was once asked in the Spring of 2000 what he thought about a universal basic income (UBI) in comparison to his proposed negative income tax (NIT) and t...
www.scottsantens.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:35 PM
It's more efficient to provide universally as use taxes to achieve targeting on the back end.
www.scottsantens.com/negative-inc...
www.scottsantens.com/negative-inc...
Reposted by Scott Santens
All I have to say to every politician in Canada is simply this , UBI now . UBI is that loud enough !!!!!
a close up of a man 's face with the words did you hear me
ALT: a close up of a man 's face with the words did you hear me
media.tenor.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:35 AM
All I have to say to every politician in Canada is simply this , UBI now . UBI is that loud enough !!!!!
The basic part has nothing to do with amount. It's about being the base. A floor. A foundation. And not only do I believe that floor should keep rising as high as we can make it, but I also think we need a lot of other things too, which I believe UBI will help empower people to make possible.
February 12, 2026 at 5:23 PM
The basic part has nothing to do with amount. It's about being the base. A floor. A foundation. And not only do I believe that floor should keep rising as high as we can make it, but I also think we need a lot of other things too, which I believe UBI will help empower people to make possible.
No, as soon as we have UBI, absolute poverty will be a thing of the past, and everyone will have the power to say no to employers who aren't offering a good enough deal.
February 12, 2026 at 5:05 PM
No, as soon as we have UBI, absolute poverty will be a thing of the past, and everyone will have the power to say no to employers who aren't offering a good enough deal.
What's also annoying is how AI folks who do say we're going to need UBI seem to just assume it will happen, without any effort on their part in making it happen.
February 12, 2026 at 4:59 PM
What's also annoying is how AI folks who do say we're going to need UBI seem to just assume it will happen, without any effort on their part in making it happen.
Reposted by Scott Santens
I think I'd be more inclined to believe the worst predictions about AI replacing everybody if the people making the predictions were lobbying for universal basic incomes and expanded safety nets instead of giving them personally $20/month
February 12, 2026 at 12:50 PM
I think I'd be more inclined to believe the worst predictions about AI replacing everybody if the people making the predictions were lobbying for universal basic incomes and expanded safety nets instead of giving them personally $20/month
It's not the entire solution. Of course we need other things too. But UBI is the missing floor that can rise as productivity rises. And it on its own will enable a lot of work, paid and unpaid, and create jobs by people spending it. With that foundation we can better figure out what else we need.
February 12, 2026 at 4:43 PM
It's not the entire solution. Of course we need other things too. But UBI is the missing floor that can rise as productivity rises. And it on its own will enable a lot of work, paid and unpaid, and create jobs by people spending it. With that foundation we can better figure out what else we need.
No it isn't. The enhanced child tax credit was a basic income for 40 million households in 2021. It was just a tax credit that dropped the phase-in. We can do that for all households instead of the standard deduction. It would also be market improving to ensure maximally wide demand.
February 12, 2026 at 4:40 PM
No it isn't. The enhanced child tax credit was a basic income for 40 million households in 2021. It was just a tax credit that dropped the phase-in. We can do that for all households instead of the standard deduction. It would also be market improving to ensure maximally wide demand.
Reposted by Scott Santens
We really need Universal Basic Income 😐
February 12, 2026 at 4:19 PM
We really need Universal Basic Income 😐
It's great to see a pilot be made permanent. Hopefully they scale it up to everyone at some point.
February 12, 2026 at 2:28 PM
It's great to see a pilot be made permanent. Hopefully they scale it up to everyone at some point.
Especially since my complaint when I refer to the left is mostly the center left. All the "serious-minded" folks who insist we just need more of the same and just love means-testing.
February 12, 2026 at 7:15 AM
Especially since my complaint when I refer to the left is mostly the center left. All the "serious-minded" folks who insist we just need more of the same and just love means-testing.
It's really not that simple.
17 Key Variables That Determine UBI’s Inflationary Impact
Will universal basic income cause inflation? Will the prices of everything rise? I get asked that all the time. Here's the deal about UBI and inflation: it all depends.
Can UBI be inflationary? Sure,...
www.scottsantens.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:12 AM
It's really not that simple.
Reposted by Scott Santens
Yay! First social security check has arrived in my bank account. Only makes me feel more strongly that we need UBI for everyone ...
February 11, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Yay! First social security check has arrived in my bank account. Only makes me feel more strongly that we need UBI for everyone ...
Reposted by Scott Santens
If you want AI proliferation, you must support Universal Basic Income. Otherwise, your ethics are compromised.
If we gave everyone subsistence, no, we wouldn't have a lazy society. There's no limit to what people might do if their basic needs were met... we'd have less peril and more innovation.
If we gave everyone subsistence, no, we wouldn't have a lazy society. There's no limit to what people might do if their basic needs were met... we'd have less peril and more innovation.
February 11, 2026 at 6:20 PM
If you want AI proliferation, you must support Universal Basic Income. Otherwise, your ethics are compromised.
If we gave everyone subsistence, no, we wouldn't have a lazy society. There's no limit to what people might do if their basic needs were met... we'd have less peril and more innovation.
If we gave everyone subsistence, no, we wouldn't have a lazy society. There's no limit to what people might do if their basic needs were met... we'd have less peril and more innovation.