UBI Works

"Not only don't people work less when they are guaranteed an income, they might actually put in more effort at work. And the fact that they have more money to spend leads to the creation of more jobs." Nobel Prize–winning economists Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo

Congratulations to Alvin Tedjo on being elected Mayor of Mississauga! He’s been making the case for basic income for years. @alvintedjo.bsky.social

Congrats @alvintedjo.bsky.social on being elected as Mississauga's new mayor. We've been supporting him since his first run in 2020 (when we campaigned on basic income together) and have seen him become a great leader and beloved councillor. Alvin wishing you the best.

The things humanity can do if we solve hunger, shelter, and basic needs.

South Korea's UBI grew the economy and gave workers a hand up.

If only there was a way to distribute the gains of AI broadly... 🤔

Author of Bullshit Jobs, David Graeber said basic income unleashes human creativity and innovation, which both the left and right can support. Instead, we're held back by bullshit jobs. The next John Lennon "is lifting boxes in some department store as welfare conditionality".

UBI from sovereign wealth funds, like Alaska's dividend, is elegant and practical. If AI does the work, the public should get dividends. Dr. Tony Annett, economist, author of Cathonomics, ex-IMF

Unleash humanity's potential.

literally everyone craves meaningful work

LVT is about fairness—returning land value back to the community that created it in the first place. "land value tax also claws something back: the value generated by transit for landowners. Because of this, the measure is a much more progressive one."

Governments are starting to ask the right question: If AI is going to create trillions in new wealth while reshaping jobs, industries, and entire economies, how do we make sure people share in the upside? AI dividends are no longer a fringe idea. They're common sense.

A window into what's driving the housing crisis. It's often more profitable to keep land in a state of blight than put it to better use for humanity. Tax the land and fix the incentives.

JUST IN: we need ubi

AI is taking away the first rung of the career ladder. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warns that young graduates could be left with low-paying service jobs as AI disrupts traditional career paths.

"How do we help the at-risk youth with housing?!" "Well these programs where they just give them money with no strings attached while they get things together seems to help." "....If only there were a way. Let's do more research."

200+ economists and AI researchers, 16 of them Nobel laureates, say we must act now on AI job displacement. Canada's own Yoshua Bengio is a signatory. If AI transforms the economy, basic income is how we make sure everyone shares in the gains.

Many people wonder why land value tax won't just raise rents. Answer: you can't create or destroy land. That's why economists consider it the 'least bad' (even 'perfect') tax. It could lower income or property taxes and encourage more housing supply.

Great idea. We can take it a step further - shift taxes from productive housing towards land value.

"Some of these places don't even have closets. Investors aren't very choosy about whether the floorplan works...they just want the best value for their money." Our economy treats housing as investment first, home second. Time to reverse this mindset.

One of Canada's biggest media voices has been thinking about UBI.

UBI isn't the only answer to AI job losses. It's the floor everything else stands on. Hinton calls it "a good start." Amodei says tax AI companies to fund it. We agree.

Working mom's plea for a better safety net

Dr. Tyler Black highlights a truth proven by data: "Every experiment on basic income shows it saves, not costs, extra money."

Another UBI skeptic flipped because of AI--a contributor to the American Conservative and New York Post "For years, I opposed Universal Basic Income, firmly and reflexively... That position no longer survives contact with reality."

The world's first humanoid robot strike. Probably not the last. As robots get cheaper and more capable, workers will need more than job protections. They'll need a share of the gains.

Natural resources are gifts of nature owned by all citizens. It should benefit all citizens through universal dividends.

In the 18th century, common land was seized for private gain. Today, it's a double enclosure: 1️⃣ Private firms profit from public-funded research. 2️⃣ AI is trained on our collective data 'commons.' We aren't asking for a handout; we're asking for our share.

Canadian entrepreneur who sold to Twitter wants higher taxes on the wealthy to fund nonprofit housing, and land value tax. "luxury-property owners should be paying land value taxes even if their homes never sell; that would help to bring prices back down from the stratosphere."

Wharton Finance Professor casually destroys NYC's tax on wages, property, and sales. Why punish work, consumption, and building, and drive people away? The far better option is to tax land. It does "the least damage you can to the private economy" while fixing housing.

Top economists agree: stop overtaxing working and building. The best option to fix our economy and housing market is to tax land instead.

work to thrive, not to survive

As AI starts doing more of the heavy lifting, OpenAI suggests it's time to tax automated labour to keep our safety nets strong. Cut taxes on human workers.

The only real answer is UBI as a dividend to citizens as shareholders

BC NDP candidate Kory Clark has signed our Basic Income Pledge. Kory's reason is personal: a close friend on disability support who still struggles to make ends meet. "Her situation is familiar to many throughout this province." Thank you, Kory. Who's next?

One of the greatest music producers of all time is pro-UBI. No surprise here.

Top capitalist supports UBI, just won't use the term because of critics who rely on strawman arguments. Call it what it is -- a universal income from AI.

CEO of Inclusion Canada calls for basic income for disabled people to match basic income for seniors. Basic income already works for some -- let's build on it for all. Published in The Winnipeg Sun (which leans conservative).

David Graeber perfectly captures the essence of why UBI is essential: it gives us back our agency.

If we replaced all property taxes with land value tax, the majority of households would come out ahead. And we'd have a housing system that rewards building instead of punishing it.

Our economy today forces us to work for what is already ours — the value created by nature and public investments. Social dividends give everyone a share of that common wealth.

The "Dean of Big Data" says we should ensure the economic gains of AI are shared equitably through AI Dividends, rather than benefiting the privileged few.

The greatest economic injustice of all is your sweat and toil being taxed more than land

Why LVT?

Paging @naheednenshi.bsky.social and @albertandp.ca - while the Alberta 2027 election may be a year away (or less, who knows?) This might be a good idea to sign on/sign up for! A strong Alberta is ensured by directly investing in Albertans! #BasicIncome4All #BasicIncomeNow #Alberta

Global BC Legislative Reporter and Saanich South candidate Richard Zussman has signed our Basic Income Pledge. He's the first in his party to put it in writing: if elected, he will work toward a guaranteed basic income in BC. Thank you, @richardzussman.bsky.social . Who's next?