UNITED STATES: My Basic Income to Hold First Drawing
Earlier this year, Basic Income News reported on the activities of the San Francisco-based My Basic Income team, which successfully crowdfunded a $15,000 no-strings-attached basic income to be awarded to one lucky individual in a raffle.
My Basic Income has now announced that the drawing will take place on May 31 (the following is a press release from the group):
SAN FRANCISCO GROUP IS GIVING AWAY $15,000 TO PROMOTE BASIC INCOME
America’s first crowdfunded Basic Income sweepstakes has launched in San Francisco. On May 31st, the “My Basic Income” team will hold a random drawing to decide who will receive $1,250/month for one year, with no qualifying conditions or strings attached. The goal of the project is to promote and discuss the idea of Universal Basic Income (UBI), and find out how the payment affects people’s lives.
The drawing at www.mybasicincome.org is still open and free for anyone to sign up. Entrants are asked to answer the question “What would you do with your life if your income was guaranteed?” Initial funds for the project were raised on the Indiegogo platform, and the group is now building ongoing support through Patreon. The group will host an event at 111 Minna in San Francisco, though attendance is not required to win.
The SF team was founded at the first Basic Income Create-A-Thon, an event in November 2015 attended by over 80 people. There they were coached by Michael Bohmeyer, a German entrepreneur who created a similar project and has successfully crowdfunded 39 basic incomes so far. The Basic Income concept has grown exponentially in the last year, beginning with a strong internet presence, and several European countries are now conducting pilot experiments. It has recently begun to appear in mainstream news.
Founder Cameron Ottens says “With the automation revolution in full swing, it’s time that we rethink our safety net. Basic Income can give all people the security and resources to innovate and take on more meaningful work.” Historically, variations on the idea of guaranteed income have been promoted both by Martin Luther King Jr. and Milton Friedman for the goals of eliminating poverty and reducing inefficient and dehumanizing government means-testing among many, many others. This cross-partisan support has led Scott Santens, UBI blogger and activist, to coin the phrase “Basic Income isn’t left or right – it’s forward!”
Press Release from My Basic Income
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