What message would you give to someone receiving a basic income for the first time?

It occurred to me that one day we may have a basic income and some people may wonder why they are receiving it. So as practice I wrote my response below. If you had to exploding to someone why they are receiving a basic income what would you write?

Tomorrow you will be receiving your first basic income check. We want to explain why you are receiving it.

We believe that all life is valuable. And as such it is wrong for one person to starve another people, wrong for people to freeze to death, wrong for people to be intentionally put in danger by neglect or reckless endangerment.

In the not too distant past your ancestors would hunt, farm, fish, forage or trade for food. For shelter, your ancestors would go into the forest or dig into the Earth for raw materials like wood, clay, mud or metals to build a home. Correct?

Humans from all human history and animals believe that each creature born on earth has a right to a portion of the Earth.

Animals show this at the watering hole during a drought. In a drought lions and deer share drinking water. There is a truce about survival resources.

Humans even make animal preserves (where humans aren’t allowed to go) where there are sections of land specifically reserved for animals to use.

In the same way a baby born to a woman has a natural right to the breast milk of its mother a creature born from the earth has a right to the food and shelter of Mother Earth.

To block an earthling from mother earth is the same as blocking a baby from its mothers milk.

But as people gather in large and larger groups from tribes to small villages to towns to cities and so on the access to raw materials becomes more difficult to acquire and the land for housing and farming becomes more limited.

So for people to live in big groups like cities they must rely on the food providers bringing food in from other areas. The food providers currently do not give their food away because they are in debt for their time and equipment. So others give them money. The housing materials providers currently do not give their materials away either for the same reasons.

So people currently use money as the medium that is used as a common gesture for giving one thing and receiving another in return (an exchange). To get money those in the city do things or sell things. They use the money they are paid to buy food and buy housing.

However, as it turns out, there are not always things for people to do for money, and there are not always things to sell for money. History has shown that work (for others) and services (for others) are inconsistent and create perverse incentives.

Since humans need food and shelter every single day. We agreed that it’s not desirable for you or anyone to starve to death (a painful process similar to torture). Normally people would go into nature (as they have always done as your ancestors did) and hunt, gather, farm, fish and forage. That allowed you to survive and not die.

But in cities where large numbers of people are gathered it’s not possible or practical for 100k people in a city to hunt or gather or grow food daily.

We do not believe that your survival should depend on if someone else needs work done where if they don’t need work that you don’t have money to eat or money for a warm home.

It doesn’t matter that there may be work somewhere out there in some remote part of the world that needs the skills you have. You’re not Lara Croft, Indiana Jones, Sir Francis Drake or Marco Polo. You are you. You have some skills that some people somewhere might need and others have skills that you may need. But your survival should not depend if someone needs those skills.

Rudolph the red nose reindeer was mocked and ridiculed and called useless until one day he wasn’t. He didn’t change. The circumstances changed. And he was needed. Same with tools. Don’t throw out tools simply because you don’t need them now. You may need them someday. How much more valuable is a human? You have as much right to exist as Bob down the street.

You’re ancestors had the option to work for themselves, to hunt and gather for their own survival. Right to labor for yourself (and access the commons / public land).

So in cities where large numbers of people are living and there is no work (or inconsistent work) and where it’s not possible or practical for 100k people in a city to hunt or gather or grow food you need another option for you to survive and receive food and shelter.

Most crime is survival crime. Psychologists, doctors and economists have determined that societies that have a basic income are healthier, happier and safer than those without it.

So a basic income is supposed to be a part of any functioning society. You are getting something back that was taken away but in another form. It has been missing and we are now adding it in. It is a right and a necessary part of a functioning society. In time better ideas will come along and we will want to continue to upgrade and adapt basic income concepts to equip society to provide a better life for everyone.

A basic income allows you the freedom to pursue your destiny and a fulfilling life without coercion.

Many ideas in this post come from prominent basic income advocates.