Scott Santens | Universal Basic Income - The Higherside Chats | Conspiracy and Paranormal Podcast

Conspiracy, Mystery, And Comedy. Boom. Join Greg Carlwood of The Higherside Chats podcast as he talks Universal Basic Income with his guest, Scott Santens. An important piece to the conspiracy puzzle is finding solutions to problems long identified. Instead of grandiose ideas of a technocratic utopia and pipe dream paradigms of exotic technologies firmly locked behind the gates of possibility for decades, moderator of the Basic Income community of Reddit, Scott Santens walks us through real, practical solutions we can fight for now. Greg and Scott walk through viable options for providing maximum optionality, circumventing the debt based system of rule and breaking the chains of economic slavery using something within our grasp. 2:24 Greg and Scott begin by helping to define the concept of a Universal Basic Income. Given on an individual level, the basic income is an unconditional, separate and permanent income stream meant to help pay for basic needs of citizens. As Scott explains, to be considered a basic income, the amount must cover the essentials, and usually hovers near the poverty line. 6:45 Addressing one of the most prominent criticisms, Greg and Scott help set the record straight about the “welfare for all” myth. Scott elaborates on the concept that under our current system, welfare pays people to do nothing, but basic income would pay people to do anything. With poverty cliffs disincentivizing people to work and fear they may have to forfeit their benefits, Scott explains how Finland is using the basic income model to grow the job markets. 14:20 While some may still have a hard time conceptualizing the finer details associated with the basic income, the great white state Alaska, serves as a case study after having implemented a similar system for residents. Since 1982, residents have been receiving dividend payments from a state-controlled investment fund. As Scott points out, Alaska has been able to turn a non-renewable resource into a permanent, renewable source of income, securing it’s post as a leader among states with residents with the highest well-being, the lowest overall poverty levels, and lowest wealth inequality. 24:50 Greg and Scott discuss how a basic income is consistent with any philosophy from conservatives to liberals, and libertarians to socialists. Listen as Scott explains how the basic income theory is universal and details the appeal from various philosophical perspectives. Greg and Scott also examine the growing need for a universal basic income due to the rise in technology and the best ways to incorporate this into a new, simplified tax code.   31:45 Continuing with the discussion of taxation, Greg and Scott detail the best possible options to restructure the current tax code to include things such as a Pigovian tax, and debt-free publicly created money. Although money should be considered as a public good, under our current system, money is not accessible to all citizens and even then, for most comes with the added price of interest. Scott contends money should be born in the hands of the people rather than bankers. Under this new paradigm, the need for an ever growing economy to cover the cost of accrued interest would disappear, leaving a more sustainable system for citizens. 36:30 Can we really afford this? Listen as Greg and Scott detail the best ways to look at the overall cost. As Scott explains, the introduction of a U.B.I, while deceptively seeming more expensive than we can afford, when all costs are considered, is less than many originally think. Additionally, the need for various social programs already in place drastically declines, as many people would no longer qualify for such benefits. 42:10 Addressing another aspect of the universal basic income, Greg and Scott examine how this may affect crime rates by offering citizens not only incentives to avoid crime, but a sense of community and overall well-being. 45:40 Revisiting the Manitoba pilot experiment out of Canada,