by Josh Martin | Aug 4, 2015 | News
Santens dives into the modern discussion on productivity and automation, showing that while automation has increasingly replaced human labor, those in work are on such low wages that they need to work well over 40 hours per week as a matter of survival. While many argue that technology replaces jobs but also creates new ones, Santens claims that this is not a one to one relationship and that the newly created jobs are rarely as stable as the ones being replaced. In sum, Santens believes that a basic income is the best way to fix this paradox of automation and productivity.
Scott Santens, “Our Paradoxical Economy Courtesy of Technology and the Lack of Basic Income”, Huffington Post, 9 July 2015.
by Will Wachtmeister | Jun 24, 2015 | News
From https://www.patreon.com/scottsantens?ty=h
Scott Santens responds to a widely publicized claim originally made in The Economist that basic income would entail a 60% rise in income tax and is therefore unaffordable. Santens lays out a step-by-step calculation which arrives at the conclusion that poverty-alleviating basic income would generate negative income taxes – i.e. tax rebates – for the overwhelming majority of US households.
Scott Santens “The Basic Affordability of Basic Income.” Huffington Post, 27 May 2015
by Jenna van Draanen | Jun 16, 2015 | News
SUMMARY: This article discusses the increasingly frequent automation concerns that have been in the media recently and technology’s impact on human employment.
Scott Santens, “Yes, it really is different this time and humans need not apply” scottsantens.com, January 15, 2015.
by Josh Martin | Jun 6, 2015 | News
Santens writes largely about electoral system issues in the U.S. and refutes the argument that Nader cost Gore the election in 2000. In fact, he argues that too many people didn’t vote for Nader, which would have impacted the presidency more. Nader, and the rest of the Green party, is a long-time supporter of basic income.
Scott Santens, “I Voted for Nader. Twice.” 4 November 2014.
by Josh Martin | Jun 4, 2015 | News
Santens discusses basic income’s impact on income inequality by analyzing its effect on Gini coefficients. He concludes that a basic income directly reduces income inequality and can help push the U.S.’s Gini coefficient closer to those of the Nordic countries.
Scott Santens, “Does Guaranteeing a Basic Income Reduce Income Inequality?”, 1 December 2014.
