Ubi Illin’

“Silicon Valley’s backing of these efforts has propelled the idea of a guaranteed income — also known as cash transfers, unconditional cash and, in its most utopian form, universal basic income — into the mainstream. But a bipartisan political consensus around the movement is fracturing even though the data seems to show that the programs are effective.” NYT (Gift Article): Is It Silicon Valley’s Job to Make Guaranteed Income a Reality? Universal basic income is worth a shot and we need to do more to strengthen the safety net. But it hardly addresses the increasing, tech-driven divide that makes it necessary. “We get to be billionaires and you get a few hundred a week” doesn’t really solve the broader problem.

+ Vox: “We’re flooded by guaranteed income pilot experiments that offer some promising results, but don’t seem to be moving us any closer to actual federal policy. Yet findings published today from the largest randomized basic income experiment in the US to date, backed by Sam Altman and OpenAI, should get your notice.”