another look at universal basic income

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2016/04/what-would-society-look-universal-basic-income

"That is the sort of freedom that sounds like blasphemy to conventional, liberal, 'free-market' economists. In today’s understanding of the economic facts, individuals have the freedom to choose how they are exploited – but they cannot choose to escape exploitation, unless they are born wealthy. Basic income seeks to change that, not just because it is the right thing to do but because the coming labour crisis may soon leave world governments, whatever their orthodoxy, with no other choice.
'If we don’t disconnect work and income, humans will have to compete more and more with computers,' Bohmeyer explains. 'This is a competition they will lose sooner than we think. The result will be mass unemployment,' he says, 'and no money left for consumption.'"

I look forward to these tests.

Testing Universal basic income in Kenya

http://www.vox.com/2016/4/14/11410904/givedirectly-basic-income

"GiveDirectly currently uses M-PESA and MTN, cellphone-based payment systems popular in East Africa, to distribute big lump-sum payments to desperately poor people in Kenya and Uganda. So far, it's gotten results: A randomized evaluation of the charity found that recipients ate more and experienced less hunger, invested in expensive but worthwhile assets like iron roofs and farm animals, and reported higher psychological well-being. They were less hungry, richer, and all-around happier.
For its basic income project, the group will randomly select dozens of villages in Kenya (it already has a specific region selected) with about 6,000 people in them total and, starting at the end of this year, provide every current resident with a basic income for the next 10 years, potentially continuing even after that. The group is still finalizing details, but the payment is expected to be about $0.70 to $1.10 per person per day. It will likely vary from village to village to allow for more testing. More than 15,000 people total will get some form of cash transfer from the project, including the 6,000 getting a full UBI."

All of this will be proven and implemented after my generation, unfortunately.  I have hope for the future.

Architects helping to fix the world

https://activate14.com/

"MISSION + GOALS
Activate14 is an outreach initiative of AIA North Carolina and the Center for Architecture and Design (CfAD) to strengthen the civic role of architecture and design in our community. 
Our goals are to

1. Promote the Center for Architecture and Design as a public resource.
2. Engage architects, artists, and designers in exploring “big picture” questions.
3. Convene the public around environmental and social issues.

Our initial goal was to activate the Center, located at 14 E Peace Street – hence the name, Activate14.
We organize and host events at CfAD that marry architecture, design and the public. Each event is a call to action for those interested in building community and designed to empower people to make a difference in shaping the world around them."

It takes input from all areas of life to help improve things.