Tom Pogson
@basicbc.bsky.social
Musician, writer, and Basic Income Victoria BC Guy who knows the abundance of a better world IS possible.
https://linktr.ee/Basicbc
https://linktr.ee/Basicbc
Pinned
Tom Pogson
@basicbc.bsky.social
· Dec 1
Explore the usual questions at www.scottsantens.com/basic-income...
Link also in bio.
Guy Standing also goes through them with a chapter on both "how to pay for it" and "won't people quit?" In his book "Basic Income and How We Can Make it Happen" (2015 Pelican Books.)
Link also in bio.
Guy Standing also goes through them with a chapter on both "how to pay for it" and "won't people quit?" In his book "Basic Income and How We Can Make it Happen" (2015 Pelican Books.)
Boxing Day wasnt originally about checking out the gatecrasher sales. It was about things like boxing up the leftovers and bringing it to the neighbors. It was about making sure everyone was ok.
www.giftster.com/news/boxing-...
www.giftster.com/news/boxing-...
Boxing Day: Everything You Need to Know - Giftster
Boxing Day is the perfect mix of holiday giving and holiday shopping. Here’s everything you need to know about this second Christmas day.
www.giftster.com
December 26, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Boxing Day wasnt originally about checking out the gatecrasher sales. It was about things like boxing up the leftovers and bringing it to the neighbors. It was about making sure everyone was ok.
www.giftster.com/news/boxing-...
www.giftster.com/news/boxing-...
"It's not out fault, it's the British workman, constantly lazy, wants something for nothing...no one wants to do a days work anymore!"
Sir Frank Gordon, "Yes, Prime Minister" 1986
Yep. They've always said it.
youtu.be/mq9GYJDASxk?...
Sir Frank Gordon, "Yes, Prime Minister" 1986
Yep. They've always said it.
youtu.be/mq9GYJDASxk?...
The British Worker - Yes Prime Minister
YouTube video by Yes Minister Clips
youtu.be
December 26, 2025 at 5:20 PM
"It's not out fault, it's the British workman, constantly lazy, wants something for nothing...no one wants to do a days work anymore!"
Sir Frank Gordon, "Yes, Prime Minister" 1986
Yep. They've always said it.
youtu.be/mq9GYJDASxk?...
Sir Frank Gordon, "Yes, Prime Minister" 1986
Yep. They've always said it.
youtu.be/mq9GYJDASxk?...
Reposted by Tom Pogson
SHE'S STILL OUT OF FOOD. Also still short for rent & heat. Mourning her lost service dog. Disabled & doing w/o those services. $900 covers rent, heat, & food but even $50 will get her food.
Pls RS/QS. Pls do what you can. #HelpFolksLive2025
Pls RS/QS. Pls do what you can. #HelpFolksLive2025
Urgent 🚨 plea for help to buy groceries please. Anything helps 5$ 10$ 15$ we are struggling a great deal. Please help us we would be grateful for any help etransfer or PayPal joannie_cowie@yahoo.ca
OUT. OF. FOOD. URGENT!
Disabled woman & her daughter are hungry. They're also cold & short on rent. She's doing w/o a service dog since Toby died, is still grieving for him. 5 ppl $10 ea RN gets them food. Any combo ppl x $$ = $900 gets them safe.
Pls RS/QS. Pls do what you can. #HelpFolksLive2025
Disabled woman & her daughter are hungry. They're also cold & short on rent. She's doing w/o a service dog since Toby died, is still grieving for him. 5 ppl $10 ea RN gets them food. Any combo ppl x $$ = $900 gets them safe.
Pls RS/QS. Pls do what you can. #HelpFolksLive2025
December 23, 2025 at 2:39 PM
SHE'S STILL OUT OF FOOD. Also still short for rent & heat. Mourning her lost service dog. Disabled & doing w/o those services. $900 covers rent, heat, & food but even $50 will get her food.
Pls RS/QS. Pls do what you can. #HelpFolksLive2025
Pls RS/QS. Pls do what you can. #HelpFolksLive2025
Reposted by Tom Pogson
For 2026, I want universal basic income. I can dream, ok?
December 23, 2025 at 5:30 PM
For 2026, I want universal basic income. I can dream, ok?
Reposted by Tom Pogson
I don't know about y'all, but today I'm going to watch my favorite version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (the Muppets of course) and here's something I wrote years ago about the science behind Scrooge's change in heart.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
The Science Behind A Christmas Carol
How Charles Dickens knew what we're only learning now
www.scottsantens.com
December 25, 2025 at 3:06 PM
I don't know about y'all, but today I'm going to watch my favorite version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (the Muppets of course) and here's something I wrote years ago about the science behind Scrooge's change in heart.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
❄️ Weather channel announces classic UBI holiday image dump today. ❄️
Merry Christmas or what it is you celebrate today. Just a Thursday is good too.
Bottom line is let's just get everyone over the poverty line as a rule.
That would be a nice one under the tree!
Merry Christmas or what it is you celebrate today. Just a Thursday is good too.
Bottom line is let's just get everyone over the poverty line as a rule.
That would be a nice one under the tree!
December 25, 2025 at 3:33 PM
❄️ Weather channel announces classic UBI holiday image dump today. ❄️
Merry Christmas or what it is you celebrate today. Just a Thursday is good too.
Bottom line is let's just get everyone over the poverty line as a rule.
That would be a nice one under the tree!
Merry Christmas or what it is you celebrate today. Just a Thursday is good too.
Bottom line is let's just get everyone over the poverty line as a rule.
That would be a nice one under the tree!
Everyone deserves a seat at the table.
December 24, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Everyone deserves a seat at the table.
Everyone should have the right to slow down, to connect with family, to say no to systems that would auto-opt to sap them dry.
!["The [guaranteed income] also allowed some
parents to make occasions such as birthdays
and holidays special for their families
during the Gl pilot year.
One mother described being home on
Christmas day for her children for the
first time in their lives. Because of the
[guaranteed income] money, she did
not need to work the holiday shift
that paid time and a half."
EXCERPT FROM THE NOVEMBER 2023 REPORT
"MY KIDS DESERVE THE WORLD":
HOW CHILDREN IN THE SOUTHEAST
BENEFIT FROM GUARANTEED INCOME](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:y3enisimvc23o6ycmrdiqfyv/bafkreicruvlpdlgswmtyeiocllnipmfsa4dtkarkzp6eiw7flhr7snjihq@jpeg)
December 23, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Everyone should have the right to slow down, to connect with family, to say no to systems that would auto-opt to sap them dry.
Professor Standing has often in speeches mentioned how Middlesborough had a huge boom in steel. When things closed the wealthy left south with their gains leaving everyone else to struggle, the ones who did the work.
Today they lost a famous "Boro boy", Chris Rea
youtu.be/OgoMsc7PseY?...
Today they lost a famous "Boro boy", Chris Rea
youtu.be/OgoMsc7PseY?...
Chris Rea - Steel River
YouTube video by ATHENAMATS
youtu.be
December 22, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Professor Standing has often in speeches mentioned how Middlesborough had a huge boom in steel. When things closed the wealthy left south with their gains leaving everyone else to struggle, the ones who did the work.
Today they lost a famous "Boro boy", Chris Rea
youtu.be/OgoMsc7PseY?...
Today they lost a famous "Boro boy", Chris Rea
youtu.be/OgoMsc7PseY?...
Image of basic income supporter, who has been asked "Where's the money gonna come from" watching example after example on the news of money being wasted, money flyin around crap noone needed being invested in, some politician spending eleventy billion dollars on lunch (or worse...)
a close up of a giraffe 's face with its tongue sticking out
ALT: a close up of a giraffe 's face with its tongue sticking out
media.tenor.com
December 22, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Image of basic income supporter, who has been asked "Where's the money gonna come from" watching example after example on the news of money being wasted, money flyin around crap noone needed being invested in, some politician spending eleventy billion dollars on lunch (or worse...)
Dec 21st, the longest night of the year.
Care of Backpack Project, Victoria BC.
Care of Backpack Project, Victoria BC.
December 21, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Dec 21st, the longest night of the year.
Care of Backpack Project, Victoria BC.
Care of Backpack Project, Victoria BC.
Workfare and additional means-testing don't lead to better outcomes.
Basic income experiments have had the opposite effect with (like in the Stockton, California SEED program) people moving from part time to full time.
Basic income experiments have had the opposite effect with (like in the Stockton, California SEED program) people moving from part time to full time.
December 21, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Workfare and additional means-testing don't lead to better outcomes.
Basic income experiments have had the opposite effect with (like in the Stockton, California SEED program) people moving from part time to full time.
Basic income experiments have had the opposite effect with (like in the Stockton, California SEED program) people moving from part time to full time.
A better world will always be possible and it was all along. An income floor to stop the ravages of poverty was possible decades ago. It never has to be like this.
Use your fire to light up the sky.
Use your fire to light up the sky.
December 20, 2025 at 7:01 PM
A better world will always be possible and it was all along. An income floor to stop the ravages of poverty was possible decades ago. It never has to be like this.
Use your fire to light up the sky.
Use your fire to light up the sky.
Reposted by Tom Pogson
There's a reason Alaska's oil dividend is revered as good policy: it recognizes that natural resources are common wealth that don't just belong to a corporation, government, or individual.
Meanwhile, Canada is losing 80% of our mineral wealth (~$1T) to private extraction.
Meanwhile, Canada is losing 80% of our mineral wealth (~$1T) to private extraction.
December 11, 2025 at 1:30 AM
There's a reason Alaska's oil dividend is revered as good policy: it recognizes that natural resources are common wealth that don't just belong to a corporation, government, or individual.
Meanwhile, Canada is losing 80% of our mineral wealth (~$1T) to private extraction.
Meanwhile, Canada is losing 80% of our mineral wealth (~$1T) to private extraction.
“There were no good treatment options back then. At that time, most people were treated by sending them to sanitoriums and people without enough money would not have been able to afford that.”
Post-spirit Scrooge's investment in Tim and family is what likely saved him.
www.uth.edu/news/story/t...
Post-spirit Scrooge's investment in Tim and family is what likely saved him.
www.uth.edu/news/story/t...
Tiny Tim of ‘A Christmas Carol’ might have suffered from rickets, tuberculosis, or cerebral palsy, UTHealth Houston physicians say
www.uth.edu
December 18, 2025 at 4:59 PM
“There were no good treatment options back then. At that time, most people were treated by sending them to sanitoriums and people without enough money would not have been able to afford that.”
Post-spirit Scrooge's investment in Tim and family is what likely saved him.
www.uth.edu/news/story/t...
Post-spirit Scrooge's investment in Tim and family is what likely saved him.
www.uth.edu/news/story/t...
Reposted by Tom Pogson
Capitalism required workers to be separated from land and property so they would have no choice but to sell their labor. That was the original exploitation, and it never ended.
Universal Basic Income is not charity. It is compensation.
Opposing UBI means defending exploitation.
Universal Basic Income is not charity. It is compensation.
Opposing UBI means defending exploitation.
December 18, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Capitalism required workers to be separated from land and property so they would have no choice but to sell their labor. That was the original exploitation, and it never ended.
Universal Basic Income is not charity. It is compensation.
Opposing UBI means defending exploitation.
Universal Basic Income is not charity. It is compensation.
Opposing UBI means defending exploitation.
Really enjoyed working on this a few years back. With the holiday a week away and thinking about the holiday..it is a tradition of giving and being together...a spirit of warmth and hope to push back against cold and dark.
basicbc.wordpress.com/2022/12/02/c...
basicbc.wordpress.com/2022/12/02/c...
Comfort and Joy – Christmas and Basic Income
…as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us, everyone! Out they would go, trudging high into the darkness, hiking single file. The young men worked their way slowly in the light of the moon-soaked sn…
basicbc.wordpress.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Really enjoyed working on this a few years back. With the holiday a week away and thinking about the holiday..it is a tradition of giving and being together...a spirit of warmth and hope to push back against cold and dark.
basicbc.wordpress.com/2022/12/02/c...
basicbc.wordpress.com/2022/12/02/c...
The reasons for universal basic income go back well before technological concerns and are more numerous than just that one reason.
The fact that people hadn't heard of it before is frankly part of it. Some people have always wanted the idea to stop being talked about.
The fact that people hadn't heard of it before is frankly part of it. Some people have always wanted the idea to stop being talked about.
December 17, 2025 at 7:15 PM
The reasons for universal basic income go back well before technological concerns and are more numerous than just that one reason.
The fact that people hadn't heard of it before is frankly part of it. Some people have always wanted the idea to stop being talked about.
The fact that people hadn't heard of it before is frankly part of it. Some people have always wanted the idea to stop being talked about.
Christmas is such an example of unpaid work:
"Dad would chop down the tree!
Chores!
Mom would fix up the meal!
Work!...
Decorating the tree!
Gardening!
Wiring all of the lights!
Electrical contracting!
Wrapping boxes and writing out cards!
Office work, outta sight!"
youtu.be/yVjn_jS9PF4?...
"Dad would chop down the tree!
Chores!
Mom would fix up the meal!
Work!...
Decorating the tree!
Gardening!
Wiring all of the lights!
Electrical contracting!
Wrapping boxes and writing out cards!
Office work, outta sight!"
youtu.be/yVjn_jS9PF4?...
Can't Wait Till Christmas (Lyrics)
YouTube video by Garfield Songs
youtu.be
December 16, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Christmas is such an example of unpaid work:
"Dad would chop down the tree!
Chores!
Mom would fix up the meal!
Work!...
Decorating the tree!
Gardening!
Wiring all of the lights!
Electrical contracting!
Wrapping boxes and writing out cards!
Office work, outta sight!"
youtu.be/yVjn_jS9PF4?...
"Dad would chop down the tree!
Chores!
Mom would fix up the meal!
Work!...
Decorating the tree!
Gardening!
Wiring all of the lights!
Electrical contracting!
Wrapping boxes and writing out cards!
Office work, outta sight!"
youtu.be/yVjn_jS9PF4?...
The newer Centrist Party of Canada in support of guaranteed income.
youtube.com/shorts/5UnXL...
youtube.com/shorts/5UnXL...
How to reduce poverty in Canada Dr Rana, Centre Party
YouTube video by Centrist Party of Canada
youtube.com
December 16, 2025 at 7:22 PM
The newer Centrist Party of Canada in support of guaranteed income.
youtube.com/shorts/5UnXL...
youtube.com/shorts/5UnXL...
People with basic income work more, not less.
Evidence has been overwhelmingly consistent for years now..
youtube.com/shorts/Xc5ho...
Evidence has been overwhelmingly consistent for years now..
youtube.com/shorts/Xc5ho...
Do people quit work with a basic income?
YouTube video by Tom Pogson
youtube.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:24 AM
People with basic income work more, not less.
Evidence has been overwhelmingly consistent for years now..
youtube.com/shorts/Xc5ho...
Evidence has been overwhelmingly consistent for years now..
youtube.com/shorts/Xc5ho...
Reposted by Tom Pogson
UBI isn't meant to replace the income from all jobs, and we aren't going to lose all jobs, especially if we have UBI to maintain spending. What UBI excels at is functioning as a floor and a dividend to make sure everyone gets a rightful share and a cushion to prevent the worst + enable new pursuits.
December 15, 2025 at 2:27 PM
UBI isn't meant to replace the income from all jobs, and we aren't going to lose all jobs, especially if we have UBI to maintain spending. What UBI excels at is functioning as a floor and a dividend to make sure everyone gets a rightful share and a cushion to prevent the worst + enable new pursuits.
Reposted by Tom Pogson
One of the reasons universal basic income is so important is how it can directly distribute a share of GDP growth instead of relying on jobs to do it. Another reason UBI is important is because it increases bargaining power for everyone, which in turn will empower unions and function as strike pay.
Increase in productivity since 1979: 87%
Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 32%
Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%.
As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 32%
Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%.
As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
December 15, 2025 at 2:02 PM
One of the reasons universal basic income is so important is how it can directly distribute a share of GDP growth instead of relying on jobs to do it. Another reason UBI is important is because it increases bargaining power for everyone, which in turn will empower unions and function as strike pay.