The Logical Foundation sent Executive Director, Michael Simm, and Director, Gareth Gillsdorf, to represent us at the Basic Income Guarantee Conference, and what they experienced was truly inspiring.
Between thought-provoking conversations and sneak peeks of some compelling new basic income films, our team had the privilege of meeting numerous leaders who are tirelessly working to advance the basic income movement. It was an opportunity to forge valuable connections and share our vision of unleashing the transformative power of basic income. We were fortunate to meet influential advocates like Scott Santens, widely recognized as the most effective online advocate for basic income, and Mark Donovan, whose Denver Basic Income Project has been an incredible source of inspiration for our Maximum Impact Pilot.
We took away some valuable insights:
1. There’s a divide between advocating for Universal (Unconditional) Basic Income and non-universal Guaranteed Basic Income, which involves means testing to ensure that only those in need receive the funds. Unfortunately, means testing and phaseouts can have burdensome effects similar to imposing higher taxes on the poor, but with added bureaucratic complexity. The encouraging news is that the majority of grassroots activists and economists seem to be leaning towards UBI, making it a pivotal issue in the basic income movement. We’ll be doing a deeper dive into this topic in an upcoming blog post, so stay tuned.
2. There’s a need for a more unified and streamlined approach to fundraising and funding within the guaranteed income movement. While this was a known issue, our team had several enlightening conversations with other nonprofits that are actively building basic income programs. They were genuinely intrigued by the potential of our platform concept and the significant impact it can make.
For instance, Just Income GNV, a nonprofit in Florida, is dedicated to reducing recidivism by providing basic income to individuals transitioning out of the prison system. Their director, Kevin Scott, expressed excitement at how our approach could enable more impact and realize their vision.
We want to create confidence in the relationships we’re building and we’re committed to ensuring that our platform enables our nonprofit partners and independent grassroots fundraisers fair compensation for their fundraising efforts.
3. The atmosphere at the conference was filled with incredible energy, surpassing our expectations. The movement is rapidly expanding, and there is a collective realization that this decade presents a tremendous opportunity to finally end poverty!
We are so grateful to our supporters and the organizers of the BIG Conference for providing travel stipends that made our participation possible. Keep an eye out for our upcoming blog post on U3BI, where we will delve into the essentials required for successful basic income policymaking. Together, we can make a positive change and create a better future for all.