015: They Owe Us a Living, Of Course

For this episode of The Future Is A Mixtape, Jesse & Matt have a discussion with Frantz Pierre--a community activist and organizer who's leading a revolutionary project to educate Los Angeles residents about the benefits of Universal Basic Income via a local, first-of-its-kind, pilot program. But how might Frantz Pierre and other fellow comrades create this program on a citywide scale when the mythology and romance of the "work ethic" and the sin of "laziness" are so indoctrinated in our communities and belief systems? How will we demand "wages" if such an enslaved chunk of our lives--going to jobs we hate--has been entirely automated, and work for the 99% no longer exists? And if and when the argument is truly won, where will the money come from? This podcast will aim to answer those questions. It will also detail why this utopian notion should be viewed as the "New Common Sense" in our global age of shafted, precarious employment, and why UBI is an essential spring-step toward human liberation.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Frantz Pierre's Twitter Account

Information About Pierre's Grassroots Basic Income Project for Los Angeles:

The Official Page for The Basic Income Project - Los Angeles

The Facebook Page for The Basic Income Project - Los Angeles

To Find Basic Income LA on Twitter

The Basic Income Project - Los Angeles Indiegogo Campaign

The Millennials Are Killing Everything! Here Is a List of Links and Articles on the Subject of Their Zombie-Schemes to Dismember Everything in Their Blind Rampage-Path: The Millennials' Morbid Obsession with Avocado-Toast Instead of Saving for Their Own Homes, Millennial Couples Aren't Buying Diamonds, They're Killing Buffalo Wild Wings and Applebee's, the Napkins Industry, Breastaurants, and More.

Do 80% of Small Businesses Really Fail Within the First 18 Months?

Fugitive Pieces: The only website on the internet that mentions Jesse's first business: "Soapbox" in Bellingham, Washington: An Anarchist InfoShop (Started in 2005); Matt unearthed an old photo of the shop.

Why Community Land Trusts (CLTs) Are Vital to Making Universal Basic Income (UBI) & Guaranteed Housing Work for the Long Term

Fast Company: "Everyone in the World Hates Their Jobs--But Americans Hate Theirs the Most"

David Graebers' Legendary Essay "On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs" Originally Published in Strike Magazine, but Reprinted as "Why Capitalism Creates Pointless Jobs" in Evoncomics

Getting Two Workers for the Price of One: Domestic Workers (Often Women) Reproduce the Future Source of Labor Without Financial Reward; For Further Analyses, Here Are Some Fundamental Marxist Views on Domestic Work

A Term Rarely Heard (or Felt) by Millennials: "Golden Handcuffs"

The Los Angeles Magazine: "Mayor Garcetti Has His First Opponent, Apparently" (Discusses Frantz Pierre's Run for Mayor and His Idea for Dealing with the Drought)

Here is Within Reason's YouTube Interview with LA Mayoral Candidate, Frantz Pierre: Part 1 & Part 2. (In the Race for LA's Mayor: 24 People Registered; 11 Made the Ballot with Pierre Coming in Eighth Place in Vote Tally.)

Strange Currencies: The LA Chapter of The League of Women Voters Didn't Hold a Debate in 2017; And Corporate-Owned Media (Like the "Esteemed" LA Times) Didn't Bother to Make Visible the Opposition--Relegating Only a Minor Discussion of the Two Top Candidates, but No One Else: Duly Cited Here.

Why Basic Income & Housing First Models for the Homeless Are Best When Put Together in the Mixing Pot. Case in Point: the city of Medicine Hat in Alberta, Canada; It's Homeless Population Has Stayed at Zero for Two Years Running.

J.E. King & John Marangos: "Two Arguments for Basic Income: Thomas Paine (1737-1809) and Thomas Spence (1750-1814)"

The Biography of Abu Bakr & His Visionary Idea for What We Know Call Universal Basic Income: "The first Muslim caliph, Abu Bakr, introduced a guaranteed minimum standard of income, granting each man, woman, and child ten dirhams annually; this was later increased to twenty dirhams." Additionally, a wider purview of Bakr's influence in Pakistan and other Muslim nations can be found in Grace Clark's book.

The Alaska Permanent Fund: America's Quiet Basic Income Tradition . . .

When It Started 1982, Every Alaskan Citizen Got About $1000 a Year.

The Modern World's First Experiment with Universal Basic Income Happened in Manitoba, Canada from 1974-79: A History of "Mincome" and Its Results.

Scholar and Shaper on the Basic Income Debate, Evelyn L. Forget, Provided the First Breakthrough Study on the Positive Health Effects That Came as a Result of Canada's Mincome Experiment: "The Town With No Poverty."

During Nixon's Administration, When Daniel Patrick Moynihan Served as the Assistant Secretary for the Department of Labor, He Walked Away from America's Potential First Expansion with Basic Income (Called Family Assistance Aid) because of the Professor's Concern with Early Studies Showing Higher Divorce Rates and the Program's Potentially Adverse Effects on Children and the Nuclear Family.

Daniel Geary in The Atlantic: "The Moynihan Report: An Annotated Edition"

A History of Basic Income

Satiric Film-Shorts from CollegeHumor: "How to Tell If You're a Basic Bitch" & "How to Tell If You're a Basic Bro"

"Fair Enough" as a Uniquely Irish Phrase

The Importance of Storytelling and Testimony for The Basic Income Project

Here's Why Frantz and Other Comrades Are Doing an Education-Based Basic Income Campaign . . .

A Promotional Trailer for The Basic Income Project - Los Angeles

Scott Santen's Essay, "How to Reform Welfare and Taxes to Provide Every American Citizen with a Basic Income"

The Guardian: "Stephen Hawking Blames Tory Politicians for Damaging NHS"

Learning Why Deflation Benefits the 1%, While Inflation Is Great for the 99% in Novara Radio's Interview: "The Production of Money: In Conversation with Ann Pettifor."

BIEN (Basic Income Earth Network): "Will Basic Income Cause Inflation?"

The New York Times: "Guaranteed Income for All? Switzerland's Voters Say No Thanks" (In Article: "About 77 percent of voters rejected a plan to give a basic monthly income of 2,500 Swiss francs, or about $2,560, to each adult, and 625 francs for each child under 18, regardless of employment status, to fight poverty and social inequality and guarantee a 'dignified' life to everyone.")

Rutger Bregman's TEDTalk: "Poverty Isn't a Lack of Character; It's a Lack of Cash"

The United States' Bureau of Labor and Statistics: Union Membership Rates in Private (6%) Versus Public (34%) Workplaces

Spain's Largest & Most Legendary Worker Co-Op: Mondragon Corporation

Business Insider: "8 High-Profile Entrepreneurs Who Have Endorsed Universal Basic Income"

The Los Angeles Times: "Full Employment: Dangers in Good Times"

The Los Angeles Times: "California Faces a Looming Teacher Shortage, and the Problem Is Getting Worse"

National Public Radio (NPR): "Where Have All the Teachers Gone?"

The Los Angeles Times: "If California's a 'Bad State for Business,' Why Is It Leading the Nation in Job and GDP growth?"

Global Voices: "Are Employee Transportation Allowances the Cause of Japan's Commuter Hell?"

The New Republic: "I'm Insanely Jealous of Sweden's Work-Family Policies. You Should Be, Too."

Heather Long in The Guardian (U.S. Edition): "Americans Love to Ask People 'What Do You Do' It's a Habit We Should Break"

Why Is It a Chinese Custom to Ask How Much You Make?

ABCNews: "Research: Older adults are happiest Americans"

The Guardian: "Does Early Retirement Mean an Early Death?"

The Telegraph: "Find a Hobby and Get Happy, Danish Style"

Martin Luther King's Speech Advocating for Guaranteed Income at Stanford University (1967)

To Email with Queries About Frantz's Project or Get Involved In This Movement:

[email protected]

Two Podcasts and Their Respective Episodes That Jesse & Matt Referenced as Sources Throughout Our Discussion with Frantz:

The UPSTREAM Podcast: Universal Basic Income - "Part One: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?"

The FREAKONOMICS Podcast: "Is the World Ready for a Guaranteed Basic Income?

Other Links Exploring UBI (But Not Mentioned in the Podcast):

Bootstraps: An In-Development Documentary in Support of Universal Basic Income

From The Website's Concept Description: "Twenty Americans from all walks of life have just won a lottery: a guaranteed check every week that's big enough to cover basic living expenses. What will they do with this opportunity?"

Scott Santens in Medium: "The BIG Library: Books About Basic Income"

The Huffington Post: "A Universal Basic Income is the Future" 

The Boston Review: "No Racial Justice Without Basic Income" 

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