by Nick Yeretsian | Oct 29, 2016 | News
The Grantcoin Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit, distributes digital currency in the form of unconditional basic income grants. Grantcoin is the first cryptocurrency managed and distributed by an NPO.
On October 1st, Grantcoin made its second distribution of basic income grants, this time to 750 people in 69 countries–chiefly the US (227), Puerto Rico (114), and Germany (84). This was about three times as many people, and four times as many countries, as their first distribution on June 30th–which had 255 recipients in about 17 countries.
Some might think that this is a pyramid scheme, given that the year-and-a-half-old Foundation is handing out money, and that it promises extra payments for enrolling other members. But Grantcoin is free to join, and those who sign up receive basic income grants regardless of whether or not they refer others to sign up (one receives “referral bonuses” for that). Furthermore, the IRS officially recognizes The Grantcoin Foundation as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity. The Grantcoin blockchain stores evidence of their past distributions (their records are organized by country in the middle of this press release).
The Numbers
In this second distribution, Grantcoin gave a total of 10,647,758.62 GRT through Basic Income Grants (5,790,483.68 GRT) and Referral Bonuses (4,857,274.95 GRT). That is approximately $5,323.88 U.S. dollars (at the October 1 price of Grantcoin on Bittrex, the largest exchange for the currency) — an increase from the first distribution’s $1,322.19 USD.
The average recipient received 14,065.73 GRT (about $7.03 USD) in combined Basic Income Grants and Referral Bonuses — an increase from the first distribution’s $5.19 USD. Each recipient received an unconditional 7,649.25 GRT (about $3.82 USD) in Basic Income Grants alone — slightly more than the first distributions $3.80 USD.
While this may appear comically low for a “basic income,” remember that this is only the second distribution. The price of Grantcoin has doubled since the first distribution.
Besides, one of greatest values of Grantcoin is its ability to demonstrate a sustainable, equitable monetary system to the world.
“Grantcoin is… the first currency in world history that’s backed by a nonprofit NGO and designed to help create a more fair global distribution of wealth.”
— founder and executive director Eric Stetson
Future Goals
The Grantcoin Foundation aims to start automating much of their work in order to grow and maximize efficiency (somewhat ironic for a BI-supporting organization). They expect to have the signup, verification, and distribution processes almost completely automated by the end of 2016.
Participants will be able to receive and spend their Grantcoin through Ekata.social, a social media platform, which the organization expects to provide an easier experience for the user.
Looking further forward, the foundation writes,
“Smart contracts can be setup to enable charitable givers to donate money directly, instantly, to the people of nations and localities. Grantcoin could therefore become a powerful tool for direct charitable giving.”
If they meet this long-term goal, it might be reminiscent of what GiveDirectly does currently.
Get Involved
The easiest way to get Grantcoin is to sign up and verify your account (the verification is simply to confirm that each account is held by a unique human being). The next distribution is on December 30th (distributions are quarterly).
Lastly, they are looking for help–asking people to consider donating to the Foundation, or buying Grantcoin, or volunteering their time and talent.
All of this effort goes toward creating a world in which money serves a humanitarian purpose.
by Kate McFarland | Oct 10, 2016 | News
Former US Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich (now Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at University of California, Berkeley) has produced a short video on basic income.
In the video, Reich argues that a universal basic income is a solution to job loss and inequality caused by developments in technology and automation.
The video was made in collaboration with the charity GiveDirectly.
This is not the first time that Reich has spoken out in favor of a basic income, especially in response to technological unemployment.
For example, he spoke on the “inevitability of basic income” last May at the Future of Work conference in Zurich, Switzerland:
For links and discussion of earlier remarks from Reich about UBI, see:
Karl Widerquist (September 5, 2015) “Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich focuses attention on Basic Income” Basic Income News.
For a recent critical response to Reich’s recent video, written from the perspective of a right-wing UBI supporter, see:
Tim Worstall (October 1, 2016) “Robert Reich Sure Doesn’t Understand Economics – iEverything And The Universal Basic Income” Forbes.
Inequality Media, “Universal Basic Income“, YouTube; published on September 29, 2016.
Photo CC BY 2.0 HarvardEthics
by Kate McFarland | Oct 1, 2016 | News
Gleb Tsipursky, a history professor and expert on charitable giving, used to be skeptical of the effectiveness of “no strings attached” cash transfers to the help the poor. Now he is an advocate of basic income, speaking at local events to promote the efforts of the charity GiveDirectly.
Gleb Tsipursky is an Assistant Professor of History at the Ohio State University as well as the president and cofounder of Intentional Insights, a nonprofit organization that provides “research-based content to help improve thinking, feeling, and behavior patterns” in order to help individuals reach their goals.
He is also a recent “convert” to basic income, as he describes in an article written for Salon. Tsipursky used to be skeptical of the idea of unconditional cash transfers, worrying that recipients would waste the money and have no motivation to be productive members of society. He reconsidered, however, as he began to read studies that appeared to demonstrate the effectiveness of unconditional cash transfers. Finally, he describes the “clincher” — meeting a woman who had ended up homeless simply because she once couldn’t afford for $110 to replace a tire.
The article was widely shared on social media, and republished on the major secular website Patheos.
According to Tsipursky (personal correspondence), his recent endorsement of basic income has influenced the direction of his organization Intentional Insights, which uses a science-based approach to advise individuals on how to donate to charitable causes in an effective manner. Tsipursky has said that Intentional Insights will now be doing more work to the promote acceptance of basic income as a way to improve social policy.
Recently, Tsipursky has been attending “Giving Games” events to talk about the effectiveness of the charity GiveDirectly, which is known for its “no strings attached” cash donations poor individuals in Kenya and Uganda. In a Giving Game, participants receive a set sum of money to donate to charities decided upon as a group. Prior to this decision, they hear speakers describe their personal reasons for charitable donation and discuss appropriate metrics for evaluating charities. Tsipursky has participated in Giving Games at the Humanist Community of Central Ohio and, on October 18, will participate in a similar event coordinated by The Ohio State University’s Center for Ethics and Human Values (CEHV) [1].
Read the article here:
Gleb Tsipursky, “Free money is not so funny anymore: Confessions of a (former) skeptic of basic income“, Salon; August 21, 2016.
[1] For more information about CEHV, see the forthcoming edition of Logos, a.k.a. “the newsletter that Kate McFarland writes for pay”.
Reviewed by Daniel Bell
Photo CC BY-NC 2.0 Michael Kappel
by Kate McFarland | Sep 4, 2016 | News
The American news outlet Vox will be hosting its first conference — or, as it calls it, an “unconference” — in Washington D.C. from September 21-22. Among the questions to be discussed is “Should we replace the welfare state with a universal basic income?”
Vox will hold Vox Conversations in Washington D.C. from September 21-22. Attendance is by invitation only — although anyone can apply for an invitation — and attendees will develop their own schedule of events. According to an August 29 update (“Vox’s first conference will be different”), Vox aims to gather a “diverse of group of 150 people into a room” and let conversations develop organically.
Vox states that there is only one rule of the conference: “we don’t want to be bound by the narrow confines of what seems possible today. Let’s think about the world as it could and should be, not as it is.” The first suggested topic on the conference website is “Should we replace the welfare state with a universal basic income?”
As of the time of this writing (August 31), it is still possible to apply for an invitation to the (un)conference.
Confirmed participants so far include basic income advocate Scott Santens, former SEIU President Andy Stern — whose new book on basic income, Raising the Floor, has earned a considerable amount of publicity — and Natalie Foster, an expert on the sharing economy and gig economy who has spoken in favor of basic income.
The topic of universal basic income is not new to this news outlet. Vox contributor Dylan Matthews has written extensively about universal basic income since 2012. More recently, other Vox authors have begun writing on the topic as well. Vox has also covered basic income on its podcast The Weeds — including, most recently, an episode with Andy Stern as the featured guest. In 2014, Vox contributors made a video on universal basic income called “We know how to end poverty. So why don’t we?” This was followed by an episode of The Weeds with the same name (featuring Dylan Matthews).
See the Vox Conversations webpage to keep up to date about the (un)conference, or to apply for an invitation. Catch up on some of Vox’s recent UBI-themed articles below:
Dylan Matthews (Jul 16, 2016) “An expert on fighting poverty makes the case against a universal basic income“
Dylan Matthews (Jun 6, 2016) “Basic income advocates lost the battle in Switzerland. They’re winning the war.“
Dylan Matthews (Jun 1, 2016) “Some residents of Oakland are about to get a basic income“
Ezra Klein (Jun 1, 2016) “A universal basic income only makes sense if Americans change how they think about work“
Matthew Yglesias (May 31, 2016) “A universal basic income could absolutely solve poverty“
Dylan Matthews (Apr 15, 2016) “A charity’s radical experiment: giving 6,000 Kenyans enough money to escape poverty for a decade“
Dylan Matthews (Dec 8, 2015) “Finland’s hugely exciting experiment in basic income, explained“
Reviewed by Genevieve Shanahan
Photo CC BY-NC 2.0 David Zhou
Shout out to Kate’s patrons on Patreon
by Kate McFarland | Aug 16, 2016 | News
This summer, Jim Pugh (cofounder of the Universal Income Project) and Owen Poindexter launched the first podcast exclusively about basic income, which bears the apt name “The Basic Income Podcast“.
The Basic Income Podcast publishes new episodes approximately weekly, each featuring a different guest. The inaugural broadcast featured Che Wagner, one of the activists behind the basic income referendum in Switzerland. Subsequent guests have included Camila Thorndike of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, who spoke about the campaign for a carbon tax and dividend, and Joe Huston of GiveDirectly.
Listen to past and future episodes at The Basic Income Podcast’s web home or on iTunes.
