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Scott Santens

@scottsantens.com

25K followers 18K following 8.9K posts

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

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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. 🧵

OBSERVED EFFECTS OF UBI

No significant reduction in labor supply (38 studies meta-analysis)

Increased self-employment (301%) and part-time employment (17%)

Slight decrease in alcohol and tobacco use (31 studies meta-analysis)

New mothers extend their maternity leaves

Birth weights improve due to better maternal nutrition

Graduation rates and educational outcomes improve

Hospitalization rates decline (8.5%)

Crime goes down (15%–42%) especially illegal hunting (95%)

Domestic violence decreases (30%–51%)

Trust increases (13% in politicians | 6% in other people)

Home ownership rates increase (17%–26%)

Food security increases as does consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables

Improved cognitive functioning (43%) and personality traits (31%)

Savings go up, debts go down

Source: scottsantens

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Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 6h

Picture how big the Hoover Dam is. An absolute unit. The Hoover Dam has a power capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW).

The solar farm that the Admin just cancelled could have produces 6.2 GW of power. That's more than 3 Hoover Dams.

jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 6h

SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled

The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency

@heatmap.news

Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says

It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.

heatmap.news

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The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 6h

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 6h

thor says " because that 's what heroes do " while looking at the camera

ALT: thor says " because that 's what heroes do " while looking at the camera

media.tenor.com

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 7h

Trump: "To lower prices we're going to do tariffs that aren't a tax on us but a tax on them and we're going to use the money to reduce the national debt because it's too big and we're spending too much on other countries and not putting Americans first so we'll end USAID and give $20b to Argentina."

CNN @cnn.com · 9h

The Trump administration has finalized plans to provide a $20 billion lifeline to Argentina, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. Additionally, the US “directly” purchased Argentine pesos, Bessent said, a move that marks the latest step in an attempt to stabilize the country’s financial market.

Bessent says US purchased pesos and finalized framework for $20 billion lifeline for Argentina | CNN Business

The Trump administration has finalized plans to provide a $20 billion lifeline to Argentina, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday via social media. Additionally, the United States “directly”...

www.cnn.com

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 7h

Male a new prize. Make him the first winner of the Nobel Loser prize. We can all congratulate him on being the most pathetic loser in the entire world. He gets to say he won a Nobel. And we all get to laugh at him for taking great pride in being the biggest loser on Earth.

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Ghostly Bree @mostlybree.kitrocha.com · 8h

it really has been amazing how much one person in a frog suit destroyed their fantasy visuals over the past week. this wouldn't work everywhere but Portland, you are doing amazing sweetie

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 8h

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 7h

JFC

Reposted by Scott Santens

Karly Kingsley @karlykingsley.bsky.social · 8h

The Trump administration is offering $60K in student loan forgiveness as a recruitment tool for ICE, which just proves fighting Biden on student loan relief was never about the loans or “paying your own debt.” It was about who was offering it and who it would’ve helped.

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 10h

Thanks! Yeah, we're really excited to finally get it out there to start helping people soon after working on it since before the pandemic. Multiple pilots have tested $200/mo, so even though it's small, we know it will help.

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 15h

New Mexico decided to go universal with their free childcare and I hope more states follow suit, not just with childcare, but with cash like Alaska, and with free school meals like Minnesota. Universalism is the way to go in policy design for many, if not most, policies. Taxes can achieve targeting.

New Mexico is the 1st state with universal childcare and more states should embrace universal policy

YouTube video by Scott Santens

youtube.com

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 16h

When Universal Basic Income gets implemented, I know there's a good chance that I'll pay more in new taxes than receive in UBI, and I definitely will as part of @comingle.bsky.social, so I've already begun donating that % of my income to advancing UBI. If you support UBI, please consider joining me.

It's Time to Walk the Walk for Universal Basic Income (UBI)

UBI means some pay more tax but most net ahead. Walk the walk now: align monthly giving with your likely net tax and help build the income floor.

www.scottsantens.com

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 20h

But a higher UBI is still a floor, and we can always raise a floor if necessary. The guesses of AI impacts are currently just guesses and any UBI would itself help create new jobs.

Universal Basic Income or Universal High Income?

An article to better inform the debate about the amount of UBI "The very positive scenario of AI is actually in a lot of ways, the description of heaven, in that really nobody would need to work. I...

www.scottsantens.com

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Noah Berlatsky @nberlat.bsky.social · 1d

every experiment re basic income shows that people are *more* productive and more fulfilled. which isn't that surprising; if you have no place to live and are starving, all your effort goes to basic survival, and you're likely to sink into despair.

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 20h

Basic just means foundational. It's a base starting point for all other income to add to.

Reposted by Scott Santens

Tom Pogson @basicbc.bsky.social · 1d

People try to make UBI / Basic Income wayyy more complicated than it is. That's why the stories against are frequently so weird.

It's just 5 rules that create a income floor beneath you, me and everyone.
youtube.com/shorts/IPJVa...

What a Basic Income actually is.

YouTube video by Tom Pogson

youtube.com

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 20h

We have to organize to make UBI happen. It won't just happen.

Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 21h

Universal Basic Income makes far more sense than this.

BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 21h

Reminder there are 1.53m unemployed people in the UK.

There are 0.11m jobs, and most of these are part time.

They are screaming at people to get jobs that don't exist.

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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 21h

No Kings. October 18th. Free speech is action. Please join in.
www.nokings.org

No Kings

As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...

www.nokings.org

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 21h

I'll take some good news.

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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 1d

Regardless of how one feels, policy-wise, about foreign aid and how it is administered, this was absolutely unnecessary and downright evil. apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 1d

Homeless people are not the enemy.

They can’t “just try harder” their way into housing.

It’s the system that’s failing.

Most of us are one emergency away from being homeless ourselves.

We need affordable housing, universal basic income, healthcare & social supports.

We need a safety net

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 1d

Great quote.

Reposted by Scott Santens

Sam @sodazen.bsky.social · 1d

What's interesting to me is that there's an assumption that people with a basic income wouldn't work and would just lay around. Even if someone isn't creative, people still have a basic need to contribute and feel part of something larger than themselves. UBI studies show this as well I feel like.

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Mayors for a Guaranteed Income @mayorsforagi.bsky.social · 1d

"As a recipient of guaranteed income I have noticed that I am willing to take bigger risks with my career because I know I will always have the money coming in on a more regular timeline."

- Kandace, artist and pilot participant in Otter Tail County, Minnesota

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 1d

Haircuts are a good example of a thing that costs what it does because rent+food cost what they do. If people lose jobs, barbers will have fewer customers. Maybe their costs of living go down. They can lower their prices and hope to recover customers. Lower price means lower wage and $0 buys nothing