Scott Santens
@scottsantens.com
Unconditional / Universal Basic Income (UBI) knowledge resource
Founder & CEO of UBI-focused nonprofit ITSAfoundation.org
Host of The Basic Income Show youtube.com/scottsantens
My #UBI FAQ: scottsantens.com
Contact me: linktr.ee/scottsantens
Founder & CEO of UBI-focused nonprofit ITSAfoundation.org
Host of The Basic Income Show youtube.com/scottsantens
My #UBI FAQ: scottsantens.com
Contact me: linktr.ee/scottsantens
Pinned
Scott Santens
@scottsantens.com
· Dec 5
I've been researching the idea of Unconditional Universal Basic Income since 2013. Here's a collection of findings I've compiled from various UBI experiments and studies of cash transfer programs around the world.
This will be a VERY LONG and ongoing thread focused entirely on empirical evidence. 🧵
This will be a VERY LONG and ongoing thread focused entirely on empirical evidence. 🧵
And the same is true for universal basic income. The entire economy is oriented around the default setting of desperation to survive amidst maldistributed abundance.
Almost every argument against universal health care is just a guy who makes 200k a year sending emails saying "but the flea and tick lobby will be really upset if we give the dog a bath"
December 26, 2025 at 5:52 AM
And the same is true for universal basic income. The entire economy is oriented around the default setting of desperation to survive amidst maldistributed abundance.
"As freedom comes from giving love, so prison comes with hate."
—The Muppet Brothers Marley
—The Muppet Brothers Marley
December 26, 2025 at 1:17 AM
"As freedom comes from giving love, so prison comes with hate."
—The Muppet Brothers Marley
—The Muppet Brothers Marley
Can't you just feel the Christmas spirit flowing through his Big Mac veins?
The President of the United States is very seriously mentally ill, and elected Republicans are so afraid of him that they won’t do or say anything about it.
December 26, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Can't you just feel the Christmas spirit flowing through his Big Mac veins?
Watching It's A Wonderful Life again and thinking it's wild how when George talks about how hard it is for a working man to save up $5,000, that's still true, but now it costs way more than that for a down payment on a house. Until politicians get serious about shit like this, we'll get more Trumps.
December 25, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Watching It's A Wonderful Life again and thinking it's wild how when George talks about how hard it is for a working man to save up $5,000, that's still true, but now it costs way more than that for a down payment on a house. Until politicians get serious about shit like this, we'll get more Trumps.
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!
This is absolutely not how it works, but it could be how it works to some degree if we did universal basic income and indexed it to a percentage of GDP per capita, say 25%, so that as GDP grew, the UBI grew too.
December 24, 2025 at 5:22 PM
This is absolutely not how it works, but it could be how it works to some degree if we did universal basic income and indexed it to a percentage of GDP per capita, say 25%, so that as GDP grew, the UBI grew too.
Reposted by Scott Santens
"Some girl with a funny name" is the most important detail in this from the standpoint of assessing credibility
That's obviously Ghislaine Maxwell and also obviously not the way anyone making a wholly false report would refer to Maxwell
That's obviously Ghislaine Maxwell and also obviously not the way anyone making a wholly false report would refer to Maxwell
“He raped me.”
“Donald J Trump had raped her along with Jeffrey Epstein.”
“She was found with her head ‘blown off’… there was no way it was a suicide.”
Now we’re starting to see why Trump was hiding the Epstein files, and it probably gets much worse.
“Donald J Trump had raped her along with Jeffrey Epstein.”
“She was found with her head ‘blown off’… there was no way it was a suicide.”
Now we’re starting to see why Trump was hiding the Epstein files, and it probably gets much worse.
December 24, 2025 at 4:59 AM
"Some girl with a funny name" is the most important detail in this from the standpoint of assessing credibility
That's obviously Ghislaine Maxwell and also obviously not the way anyone making a wholly false report would refer to Maxwell
That's obviously Ghislaine Maxwell and also obviously not the way anyone making a wholly false report would refer to Maxwell
Reposted by Scott Santens
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 Scott Santens
Can we just fucking get UBI already? I'd be so much more willing to work if my literal life didn't depend on it.
December 23, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Can we just fucking get UBI already? I'd be so much more willing to work if my literal life didn't depend on it.
Reposted by Scott Santens
It pissed me off the argument against UBI is "sO yOur FiNE tO SwEAt FOr pEOpLe WHo dOnT WORk" you mean like shareholders, people like with generational wealth?? People who asking their dad for 40 billion to buy Warner Bros. Elon's stupid satellites etc...
December 24, 2025 at 1:40 AM
It pissed me off the argument against UBI is "sO yOur FiNE tO SwEAt FOr pEOpLe WHo dOnT WORk" you mean like shareholders, people like with generational wealth?? People who asking their dad for 40 billion to buy Warner Bros. Elon's stupid satellites etc...
Reposted by Scott Santens
The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5
December 23, 2025 at 1:28 AM
The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5
Reposted by Scott Santens
Really pleased to join the board of trustees at Basic Income Research Group at such an exciting time.
Here’s our latest report on the trade union’s perspective on #BasicIncome for Net Zero.
commonsense.northumbria.ac.uk/reports/basi...
@walesgreenparty.bsky.social
@plancommonsense.bsky.social
Here’s our latest report on the trade union’s perspective on #BasicIncome for Net Zero.
commonsense.northumbria.ac.uk/reports/basi...
@walesgreenparty.bsky.social
@plancommonsense.bsky.social
Basic Income for Net Zero - Common Sense Policy Group
Basic Income for Net Zero: Trade Union Perspectives Download ‘Basic Income for Net Zero’ This report analyses engagement with UK […]
commonsense.northumbria.ac.uk
December 23, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Really pleased to join the board of trustees at Basic Income Research Group at such an exciting time.
Here’s our latest report on the trade union’s perspective on #BasicIncome for Net Zero.
commonsense.northumbria.ac.uk/reports/basi...
@walesgreenparty.bsky.social
@plancommonsense.bsky.social
Here’s our latest report on the trade union’s perspective on #BasicIncome for Net Zero.
commonsense.northumbria.ac.uk/reports/basi...
@walesgreenparty.bsky.social
@plancommonsense.bsky.social
Reposted by Scott Santens
Everyone should get a UBI then if they want extra they can work as much as they feel like. Our society is so obsessed with work we keep inventing bullshit jobs, that no one wants or is needed.
December 23, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Everyone should get a UBI then if they want extra they can work as much as they feel like. Our society is so obsessed with work we keep inventing bullshit jobs, that no one wants or is needed.
Reposted by Scott Santens
There's a bloke in my town that goes around on a bike with gardening tools tidying up public spaces that the council doesn't/can't afford to do. I've no idea how he funds himself but a UBI would release thousands of people with a passion to do things being stifled by wage labour.
December 23, 2025 at 11:50 AM
There's a bloke in my town that goes around on a bike with gardening tools tidying up public spaces that the council doesn't/can't afford to do. I've no idea how he funds himself but a UBI would release thousands of people with a passion to do things being stifled by wage labour.
Your $120k office job that required a college degree that you're still paying for is stupid. You should be happy to lose that job to AI and find a new job making $60k doing work that can't be automated (yet) and those loans you're still paying off, just ignore those. And definitely don't demand UBI.
Peter Navarro: "In an age of AI when all the white collar jobs are going away pretty damn quick, I think maybe it's a good time for people to think about having good blue collar jobs ... give tariffs a chance, because they're working"
December 23, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Your $120k office job that required a college degree that you're still paying for is stupid. You should be happy to lose that job to AI and find a new job making $60k doing work that can't be automated (yet) and those loans you're still paying off, just ignore those. And definitely don't demand UBI.
Reposted by Scott Santens
The generational reply to Reagan's trickle-down economics must be...
UBI
...or we will go through economic problems PROVING that we need a...
UBI
UBI
...or we will go through economic problems PROVING that we need a...
UBI
December 23, 2025 at 2:31 PM
The generational reply to Reagan's trickle-down economics must be...
UBI
...or we will go through economic problems PROVING that we need a...
UBI
UBI
...or we will go through economic problems PROVING that we need a...
UBI
Reposted by Scott Santens
New article from me today about my take on those Trump Accounts and how we should be ending child poverty in the here and now by just providing money every month to parents instead of letting child poverty fester for another two decades in a way that's nice for stock prices.
The $1,000 Lie: Why Trump Accounts Are the Wrong Answer to the Right Question
Billionaires are lining up to seed investment accounts for kids, but we already know how to end child poverty — and waiting until age 18 isn’t it
open.substack.com
December 23, 2025 at 2:20 PM
New article from me today about my take on those Trump Accounts and how we should be ending child poverty in the here and now by just providing money every month to parents instead of letting child poverty fester for another two decades in a way that's nice for stock prices.
Reposted by Scott Santens
Food for thought, when evaluating UBI experiments
December 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Food for thought, when evaluating UBI experiments
Reposted by Scott Santens
@scottsantens.com if this isn't one of the best arguments for UBI, I don't know what is. Let people do what they want to do and that will lead to better results than doing bullshit jobs to enhance some psychopath's social status.
#UBI
#UBI
I have always said it, I will continue to say it, we are limiting the productive potential of millions of freaks by demanding they earn a wage to survive instead of enabling them to do whatever thing their brain is broken for
December 23, 2025 at 1:33 PM
@scottsantens.com if this isn't one of the best arguments for UBI, I don't know what is. Let people do what they want to do and that will lead to better results than doing bullshit jobs to enhance some psychopath's social status.
#UBI
#UBI
Reposted by Scott Santens
In which we learn that the US attorneys office concluded that Trump traveled on Air Epstein regularly without appearing in he passenger manifest.
December 23, 2025 at 4:33 AM
In which we learn that the US attorneys office concluded that Trump traveled on Air Epstein regularly without appearing in he passenger manifest.
Reposted by Scott Santens
career protectionism won't save us, we need a world where people's jobs becoming irrelevant simply isn't a big deal and they aren't thrust into poverty. UBI and free access to education and training.
because the jobs will keep disappearing. as long as we keep discovering new technologies.
because the jobs will keep disappearing. as long as we keep discovering new technologies.
December 22, 2025 at 8:27 AM
career protectionism won't save us, we need a world where people's jobs becoming irrelevant simply isn't a big deal and they aren't thrust into poverty. UBI and free access to education and training.
because the jobs will keep disappearing. as long as we keep discovering new technologies.
because the jobs will keep disappearing. as long as we keep discovering new technologies.
Reposted by Scott Santens
Read the full email Sharyn Alfonsi sent her team about CBS pulling their segment on the Trump admin’s deportations of Venezuelan migrants
December 22, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Read the full email Sharyn Alfonsi sent her team about CBS pulling their segment on the Trump admin’s deportations of Venezuelan migrants
Reposted by Scott Santens
Basic income is the most effective core policy to save the people, save the country, and save the market economy in a future society where jobs are disappearing and polarization is severe
Lee Jae-myung
President, South Korea
Lee Jae-myung
President, South Korea
December 22, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Basic income is the most effective core policy to save the people, save the country, and save the market economy in a future society where jobs are disappearing and polarization is severe
Lee Jae-myung
President, South Korea
Lee Jae-myung
President, South Korea