Can UBI be delivered with blockchain?

Interview with Anna Stone, head of strategy, GoodDollar.org

UBI or Universal Basic income, is a concept that has been around since the 1800s but which has gained more popularity in recent years. 2020 Democratic hopeful presidential candidate Andrew Yang made it a part of his political campaign, many Nordic states are actively discussing the idea and increasingly it is seen as part of a raft of solutions aiming at reducing and eliminating widespread income inequality.

Having access to UBI meets most resistance with main two arguments. The first is that people will cease to work if they have a basic income. The second is that the UBI will be funded out of national tax, ie out of people’s wallets. Both arguments can be emotive and divisive.

Of course, the UBI proposed so far has not been of the get rich variety and unlikely to temp the majority of people to cease employment. It is more likely to assist people needing financial support to care for loved ones or pursue passion projects with low financial return. Conversely, there has been a dearth of ideas on how to fund UBI painlessly, or at least without impacting people in their own pockets, a situation most likely to generate blowback from society.

GoodDollar, from eToro, comes to the table with a plan to manage both arguments, essentially kicking them both into touch. For starters, it considers UBI should be available to anyone regardless of age, sex, race, employment status and creed – removing the potential them and us scenario. GoodDollar’s appearance is timely as during the lockdowns, UBIs have been essentially implemented in part in many parts of the world (through helicopter money to citizens) and some 20 counties are now actively evaluating this as a policy decision.

In addition, GoodDollar has looked at implementing UBI outside of government and related tax systems.

Listen to the full podcast to find out how GoodDollar solves these issues, is building a strong ecosystem and attracts investors interested in impact investing. 

Jillian Godsil is an award winning journalist, broadcaster and author. Her latest book can be found at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08NS1LXG8