Building a Better Future: The Universal Basic Income Solution

Conrad Shaw and Scott Santens, founders of the Income To Support All Foundation (ITSA), share their journey in supporting various UBI initiatives, highlighting personal stories and the challenges faced, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Does the U.S. economy generate enough wealth per capita to eradicate poverty through UBI? What happened to the Child Tax Credit, which had cut childhood poverty in half? Understanding UBI's benefits comes from experiencing it firsthand, contrasting it with welfare programs, and anticipating the massive economic shifts that Artificial Intelligence will affect in both white and blue collar jobs. Explore Conrad and Scott's experiences in creating the Bootstraps documentary series, which chronicles families receiving UBI and showcases its positive impacts over several years. Lastly, learn about Comingle, a mutual aid platform where community members support each other financially based on weekly income fluctuations.

00:00 - Intro
00:40 - The Comingle App
09:29 - Experiencing Basic Income
13:08 - Like & Subscribe
13:25 - Making of A UBI Doc Series
20:46 - Industry and Poverty
25:28 - Bootstraps Doc Update
29:53 - The ITSA Foundation
35:39 - The Child Tax Credit
40:49 - Getting UBI Ready
44:01 - An Arts and Creativity Economy
47:47 - Unlocking Our Financial Potential
51:22 - How to Get Involved

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[ScottSantens]

Thanks again for inviting Conrad and I to have this discussion with you, Andrew!

Thank you as well to those who watch this and read this reply and who share this video with others!

[desireegreen]

My neighbors and two churches raised basically a basic income for a neighbor who is blind with MS and was losing his housing in 2021. We raised about $11, 000 and found a recently retired neighbor who could use some extra income. We paid $500 directly to the landlord, and the would be homeless man paid $500 from his SSDI. The only thing for housing in CA is vouchers. He was in the wait-list for the voucher was 3 1/2 years. But we successfully carried our friend through that wait-list period. He just moved into an apartment with his voucher. It's been really interesting to see the inside of the system. He is blind, with neuropathy and is also on the autism spectrum. It took four smart ladies to navigate the system on his behalf. I like this idea of small community driven projects. Because it's really easy to get bitter and entitled and complain about the government. Anyway, thanks. I wish I could vote for you again.

[bollweevil]

Can’t believe this channel only has 130k subs.

[KarlaYatckoske]

Loved seeing Bootstraps at the BIG Conference in Chicago last year! Let's all make UBI happen!!!

[ConradShawActor]

What a treat to be on the show, Andrew, thank you!

[AndogaSpock]

To run for politics it should be mandated that you declare quantifiable goals and your eligibility to run for reelection should be tied to whether you achieve that goal or not.

[rirapart]

good to see you guys coming together again. waiting for another movement to take shape.

[jtempleton]

Great program, Andrew! You guys are brilliant! Thank you for being you! 👏❤🙏

[FanOfTheEarth]

Awesome thank you so much for having this conversation.

I strongly believe that people will not be able to manage impacts of climate change because they are already broke and the numbers are going to rise very quickly year after year. We need to have a nationwide UBI so people can prepare for those emergencies. We are already enduring issues with our homes in flood plains and sea level rising on our coasts. Let alone the worries of major events like tornadoes, fires, hurricanes and droughts uprooting people that have no savings or money for a place to stay if they are forced to leave or if their home becomes damaged or destroyed.

We already know private insurance companies will get bailed out, but you know the money won't help the people down and out. We also know that FEMA isn't any better at providing aid quickly or efficiently, and especially now when many of our government agencies seem to be failing us horribly when it comes to protecting us and our well being. What are people gonna do?

[niclucci]

I’m going to point out, again, that for a channel to have well over 100k subs and regularly post videos that reach less than 1% of that audience is highly unusual…

[a.m.]

I know there are so many in worse positions than myself, but city life is expensive by myself. It wouldn't be this much, but even $200 a month would help me relieve a week of costs for my monthly expenses on top of my work income. I could really use that.

As a side, $52, 000 take home for the year(no tax) would be perfectly fine for me.

[lauradawson]

Please, let’s set up a meeting ASAP. Tell me where and how to connect. Thank you!

[emerraldx]

Let’s get these guys on Sam Harris’s Making Sense podcast where his subs helped exceed all the Go Fund Me goals for the last documentarian he had on with a compelling message to share 🧢 can’t wait to see Bootstraps shared around the world 🥰

[PaulADAigle]

Psychologically, doing a UBI test will never show you the truth of what UBI would actually do. It's only a slight indicator.
The only way to do a real test that encompasses the full psychological repercussions is to make a 'permanent' adjustment to their income or something that feels permanent. A couple years isn't good enough. People have to know it's going to be there no matter what, in order for them to react with it. Someone may feel inspired to open their own business with the additional stable income, but if it isn't long-term stable, then they won't. You're then getting a skewed set of information in your setting. At least 10 years would probably be sufficient, and they have to KNOW it'll be there that long.

[Ludens]

This is a good idea! Andrew please run for president.

[jstout]

Forward Party ought to have RFK JR as the nominee if he agrees to do Universal Basic Income. It's status and policy victory for the Forward Party. Funding and potential assistance in ballot access for RFK JR including signatures and support team.

[GeorgeMillerUSA]

Please invite Amala Ekpunobi and Allan J. Lichtman to your podcast. I really love to see you having a chat with them.

[NP]

When the gentlemen spoke about our trash to poor countries something I didn't know about. His statement is on target. Which circles back to DC putting Corp first and citizens an after thought with constant rhetoric that "we can't" a number of things because of money, but $ goes overseas and they received m4a. So that alone speaks on power, $, influence. The lack of humility, empathy and simple respect for our neighbors. In conclusion vote for American families and what best move our society forward not decades even centuries of greed and corruption with the rich laughing to the bank while Americans cont arguments left to right.

[josephthompson]

Can you set up Comingle so that for months when you give more than you receive that dela is considered a charitable donation? Seems as if you can give to a charitable donation to a non-profit who spend that money to help people, this shiuod be the same.

[thecorrectoification]

Opinion from a Canadian here. I think a much more productive conversation with the UBI skeptics would be to have a serious conversation about a Negative Income Tax proposal.