Black Community - Guaranteed Basic Income The Solution?

Guaranteed annual income, a guaranteed minimum income for all people and for all families of our— Welcome back to the channel, and I hope you all are having a great day. So this is going to be an interesting video today. We're talking about the Black community and is guaranteed annual income or guaranteed minimum income or a basic income one of the biggest solutions and what some deem to be problems in the Black community. And so I found it very interesting after doing a little bit of research. Uh, of course, we got to see in the opening of the video that was, uh, one of my favorite, um, speeches from Dr. Martin Luther King where he looks at organizing around a guaranteed annual income as being a big solution for the plight of the Black community. And not just the Black community, but also other groups that have been left behind in society and under economic strain as well, right? So many of the other impoverished groups. Um, now I find it also interesting that a lot of Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy that gets remembered, one of the more most important parts of the legacy, which is the push for, uh, this guaranteed, uh, minimum income, um, is the legacy that is the least, uh, brought to the forefront, uh, even when we look at something like the Martin Luther King Foundation, right? That is administered by even the descendants of Martin Luther King. I could be wrong about this, but I'm not aware that they are pushing to a great degree universal basic income. Although when presidential candidates like Andrew Yang stepped upon the scene, I believe Dr. Martin Luther King's Martin Luther King Jr. III, uh, did support Andrew Yang, but he didn't seem very vocal in much of his politics around D.C. about it, which I would have liked to see. And I think that was just such an important part of Martin Luther King's legacy, right? Um, so, uh, interesting enough, universal basic income has come, come back on the scene a lot. Based on a lot of future potential problems that can exist with automation, right? So you're seeing many of the tech industry leaders, people like Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, talk about this being a solution to future problems where automations take many jobs. And we can kind of see it when we go into our local supermarkets. Uh, we see these self-checkout lines, we see, uh, floor cleaner machines, we see driverless cars. We, we, we are starting to really see the full grip that, uh, automation is having on us and it's slowly displacing people from work and taking jobs, right? And we've been seeing this happen, uh, year after year now. So first, let's get a clear definition of this guaranteed annual income. So to be clear, if you're wondering what it is, to understand it completely, it goes by several names, but one of the, the names that rings a bell a lot, uh, today is universal basic income. It's pretty much all the same thing. Universal basic income, basic income, guaranteed income. And what this is, is this is a, uh, a regular month, could be monthly payment. It is unconditional for the most part, meaning despite your class, you're going to get it. And much of the modern day origins of it stem from people like Thomas Paine. Uh, so, uh, you know, so it's, uh, the American philosopher. So there's a lot of, it is very, very American idea. Right. And that was about 300 years ago. And so, uh, uh, it was coined then the idea of the citizen's dividend. Uh, right. So this idea, um, you know, then versions of it kind of got pushed out by economists like Milton Friedman or suggested. And so it's, it's been even in our very conservative economic politics, right. And so you find people on both sides of the aisle who are open to ideas like universal basic income. And during this pandemic, we've gotten to see certain things that feel like it, right? Like checks going out and why are they sending out money? Stimulate economies because people can't get to work and so on and so forth. So a lot of this is the basic idea behind universal basic income. But today we want to talk about several reasons why it could be a great solution for the Black community in so many aspects outside of the economics, right? And the very social conditions of Black people and the family, uh, lives of Black people in the, in the workforce of Black people. Um, this can be a very big answer. And so we're going to explore some data why that is and why it could be a great solution, why people like Martin Luther King thought it was a great solution. So, um, first I'm on this article where it's talking about basic income as a policy lever. Can UBI reduce crime? Right. And it's very, um, uh, interesting article done by promarket.com, right, where they compile charts and data, uh, and one state they're using is a state where, um, basically a citizen's dividend, or what we namely call ideas like universal basic income, is being used, and that is the state of Alaska. Now, one big question is, where does the money come from to fund something like universal basic income? And it just so happens that Alaska happens to be a state full of oil that has the Alaskan Permanent Fund which uses the money created by the state's oil to give citizens money every, every year. Sometimes they can receive a couple of thousand dollars a year, and it goes up and down, uh, based on the value of the fund, right? Price of oil, so on and so forth. Now, a lot of people would then say, well, my state doesn't have oil, my state doesn't have resources like that, but It's just not limited to oil. It can be also used, uh, land can be used, data can be used, such as data like what we do on social media and so on and so forth. So there are so many things that could be considered a resource and used as it. But let's get back to understanding, um, you know, why it could be so important for African American people. So anytime there is economic calamity, and in certain groups there is economic issues. And a lot of the models we use are based on something being relative to another outcome. So what happens in the Black community is that within the Black community, in comparison to other groups, non-Black groups, their net worth-wise, there is a 7-time differential, meaning that people are of other races and groups are 7 times more wealthier than African American, uh, people, than the people in the Black community. So some estimates are around the maximum net worth of an African— of the African American community on average being about $20,000, and and the next counterpart, other races being around $140,000, right? And I, you know, I think it's clear to understand that, you know, that is a very severe gap. And what is this based on right now? Anytime you have a socioeconomic clash like this, an imbalance, things are going to start to pop up like crime, then that's going to add to imprisonment. And things like that. So, and I want to find here in the article where it gives the data on what happened to the crime rate in Alaska with this dividend being administered, right? And so, uh, see if I can find it here, but I can go ahead and tell you, and I'll leave a link to the article, that the crime rate did come down. And part of the reasons, uh, why is if you think about it in terms of being able to receive, uh, this guaranteed income monthly because your community values you, because your country values you, right? Uh, not only is going to have a very, uh, value-wise effect on people, uh, as far as their improvement, but it's also in their value systems but it's also going to incentivize them not to want to lose it, right? So in the idea of criminal activity, you're going to probably see reduction of crime because if, uh, crimes are committed and so on and so forth, that dividend may be taken away. So let's see, this might be the part that I was looking for. Uh, But anyway, um, very interesting article, but, uh, it does point to crime being reduced. And I, and I think there's many reasons why we could, uh, understand why that would happen as well, uh, simply because, uh, a lot of crime is based on desperation or believed uh, uh, certain constraints, uh, in the job market or in the education system, right, that can encourage some to want to partake in a life of crime, right? And so then we get the prison systems, and of course then that becomes this downward, uh, domino effect, right? Um, but these dividends, uh, as far as the crime rate in Alaska implementing a program like this, it did reduce in comparison to the, to the other states, right? Um, now in addition to that, besides universal basic income, uh, reducing crime, right? Which by itself is gonna be good. We also would have to look at something like home ownership, right? In the African American community. So a lot of Black people aren't homeowners, right? And that's gonna be a, as far as, you know, where it comes to building of resources and being healthier and more education, you know, not having certain, uh, areas, uh, uh, and access to certain things are going to, uh, be an impediment to, uh, you know, you being able to go forward in certain ways. So, uh, homeownership is a great gateway to breaking out of that condition. And many of the universal basic income models, the guaranteed income models, most of your basic needs are supplementally are going to be met. So you're talking about maybe $1,000, $2,000 per month to cover maybe basic utilities. For some people, it might cover their rent or mortgages and so on and so forth. If you consider that groups of families all would receive this income, it would make it possible, uh, for them to afford mortgages and buy homes. A family of 5 may now be collecting as much as $5,000 per month where they can start to buy property and homes and so on and so forth, right? And this can help to build the economy, stimulate the economy, so on and so forth, right? Um, I think we also have to keep in mind that I think agree, during the Black community, many of the economic strains, uh, lead to a lot of collapse of Black families, right? If families have to argue about money day in and day out just for basic necessities, then the strain that's being placed on relationships are going to be very, very high, right? Also, they're going to be a diminishing value system because what happens, especially in a very capitalistic economy is that people can start to mistakenly, uh, um, uh, correlate the value of a person to the money they have, right? So value systems change how people are viewed. When people start to value themselves little, what happens is they may value others little, right? And I'll give you an example. Uh, I worked for the government for a period of time. Um, well, worked, you know, for a, uh, it was a government contract I was under. And, um, there was one person I worked with, uh, military background, who, uh, basically had been training private armies in Saudi Arabia. Uh, he was on a, uh, a convoy one day with a Saudi prince and his, um, convoy was cut off, uh, by a taxi cab driver, right? That endangered the life of the prince. And an argument pursued with taxi cab driver with one of the bodyguards, and the bodyguard shot him and killed him. And he made a comment like, uh, water was more valuable than that person's life. So we can kind of misconstrue, uh, resources and people Right? And, uh, when that happens, it can psychologically start to happen in a very capitalist society. This can create, uh, a very undesirable attitude in society about how people view themselves and how they view other people. Right? So in a societal sense, uh, universal basic income, being able to collect that payment everyone might have in value. Uh, uh, you know, I, I even heard a gentleman once say, a father once tell a story about, you know, there was a time when, uh, he didn't even have $2 to buy his kid a soda in his pocket, and he must have felt very bad about that. And, uh, stories like this happen every day, and we see this, you know, played out, uh, not just throughout the Black community, but you know, throughout the country in general, in the world in general, right? And so universal basic income can be a great solution to that, right? Now, I don't want to say that universal basic income is going to solve every problem that is had, but you have to understand in socioeconomics, this conjunction and connection these are two things that are almost inseparable, right? That it is hard for one to exist without another. Uh, in many of the Black relationships, uh, content across social media right now, the Kevin Samuels and so on and so forth, the Cynthia G's that talk about, uh, people in the African-American community who haven't taken care of their families, or that talk about high-value men being desirable and every, every woman wanting just that high-value man. Um, you know, universal basic income, I believe, can help to create, uh, what would be a minimum floor to help people to be able to, um, you know, become better people all the way around, right? It's gonna allow much opportunity in many areas, right? And so, um, that is why I believe people like Martin Luther King, very intelligent guy. That's why he won the Nobel Prize. He must have had a very high IQ, but that's why he was able to figure this out, that this is what we need, that this is what people should receive, right? And that is going to do so much in helping people, uh, come up from economic, from, uh, poverty. You'll come up to the, uh, at least be able to support themselves and survive and feed themselves enough to be able to get, uh, educated to, to go forward. Now, um, two of the easiest ways that many economists and, uh, uh, people who study a lot of, um, uh, social systems and so on and so forth— one of two of the easiest ways to fix a problem is going to be education and money, right? Direct money and education. Education being the cheapest but one of the most effective. Money being the most direct when injected and the most effective. And that's why in many of these issues that happen in our worlds, whether it be pandemics or whether it be, um, rising oil prices or whatever the case may be, they start to issue these stimulus checks out because that's gotta be the easiest way to fix the issue, right? Uh, it's going to help to stimulate the economy and, uh, universal basic income, guaranteed income, I believe in the black communities would do a similar thing and spread to, uh, other areas of the ills in the black community. And that's everything from relationships to education to imprisonment, to drugs, right? All of these things that have a negative impact, uh, on the Black community, uh, this will help to solve that issue. Now, um, I hope that Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy continues on with guaranteed annual income, uh, projects and so on and so forth. And there are some out there. Um, I now, uh, am the founder of one of them called BitcoinMYK that gives absolutely free. You don't have to have a dime. You don't have to have a dollar. Absolutely free gives you value of this network and it moves money around that you can spend on various things, right? Use blockchain technology, uh, to basically get this money around the globe. And we'll leave a link in the description so you can check out that program, right? Again, absolutely free, not a scam. Keep your money in your pocket, use it free. Um, and if you are interested in content like this or ideas like this, you can subscribe to the channel and learn more about it. But I do think it is a good place for us to start. It's not a total solution. It's not an overall solution, but it's one of the best solutions I believe that we have, right? And, uh, I, I certainly encourage us to at least in the very least get educated about it and consider, uh, consider it. That's all I want to say in the video. If you like content like this, don't forget like, subscribe. Until next time, as always, take care of yourselves and each other.