Could We Fund a Universal Basic Income with Universal Basic Assets? (fastcompany.com)

Universal Basic Incomes aren't really the issue, argues Fast Company staff writer Ben Schiller. "It's how you find $2 trillion to pay for it." One answer may come in the form of "universal basic assets" (UBA). UBA can mean a fund of publicly-owned infrastructure or revenue streams -- like Alaska's Permanent Fund which pays residents up to $2,000 a year from state oil taxes. Or, it can mean actual assets that drive down the cost of living, like tuition-free education and free public broadband. There are lots of proposals going around now that fall into these two camps...

Entrepreneur Peter Barnes has called for the creation of a Sky Trust that would both limit the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and provide revenue from carbon taxes. These "carbon dividends" solve two problems at once: income inequality and climate change. He would also tax corporations for using natural resources, on the thinking that the atmosphere, minerals and fresh water around us represent a "joint inheritance." He would also tax speculative financial transactions and use of the electromagnetic spectrum. The U.K. think-tank IPPR recently proposed a similar "sovereign wealth fund owned by and run in the interests of citizens." It would finance the fund with "a scrip tax of up to 3% requiring businesses to issue equity to the government, or pay a tax of equivalent value," sales of land owned by the U.K. monarchy, and higher inheritance taxes.

Blockchain can help. Blockchain technology could offer a way to divide publicly-owned infrastructure so it's genuinely publicly-owned. We could issue tokenized securities in the assets around us giving everyone a stake in their environment. Then they could trade those tokens on exchanges, like they were cryptocurrencies, or use the tokens as collateral on loans.

Comments

Re: Depends

[reanjr]

If you can't afford UBI, then your society can't afford to exist, because it does not generate enough productivity to keep your citizens alive. If you think the US can't afford UBI, you are too far gone to learn how economics and math work.

Re:How do you control for population growth?

[Karmashock]

False:
http://www.politifact.com/flor...

Cite your source. I pulled one of out the air... its not hard. I am aware of per district spending across the US. You are not.

Do you know what is the highest spending school district per capita in California? Bet you don't.

Do you know which portion of Connecticut spends the least? Bet you don't.

Your position is based on ignorance. I've seen more than enough information which I've gone through in depth to know this for a fact.

But because you are making an ignorant statement and presuming to be in the know... I think you're going to have to be put in a position where your ignorance is obvious... even to you.

So... in service of what I believe is the only constructive course of action in this argument... please cite a source.

And know that when you do, you'll still be ignoring that spending on education has no correlation with achievement. Something which you're attempting to evade by citing other countries when it clearly is irrelevant. Within the US alone we can see there is no correlation. Changing the subject and refusing to acknowledge that money =/= performance in education is frankly dishonorable in this discussion. You are showing a lack of integrity.

Please address the lack of correlation and concede. Its been checkmate since the first post.