World’s First Nationwide Universal Basic Income Just Went Live (Marshall Islands) | The Basic Income Show #26
Tue Jan 06 2026
Episode 26 of The Basic Income Show!patreon.com/scottsantensThe Marshall Islands just made history: the world’s first permanent Universal Basic Income (UBI) is now live—paid to every citizen/resident (kids and adults) on an ongoing basis. In this episode of The Basic Income Show, Scott Santens, Conrad Shaw, and Josh Worth break down what’s happening, how it’s funded, and why this is a turning-point moment for global basic income.CHAPTERS00:00 Intro + what’s covered03:18 Marshall Islands launches the world’s first permanent UBI06:36 Payment options (direct deposit / check / USD stablecoin)07:09 How big is the UBI (PPP + share of GDP per capita)09:54 How they’re paying for it (trust fund / sovereign wealth fund)28:34 IMF targeting pressure + VAT (and why UBI changes the math)31:12 Cook County makes guaranteed income permanent (budgeted)36:40 BOOST Act: $250/month UBI in Congress + surtax design47:44 Trump accounts + Dell donation (why this isn’t basic income)58:42 Canada basic income bill advances (process + next steps)1:00:50 Canadian farmers union proposes guaranteed income1:09:54 Oregon unhoused youth: $1,000/month and housing outcomes1:14:58 Madison, WI pilot: $500/mo to parents — FT employment up1:19:25 Brazil natural large UBI experiment: daughters' military pension1:28:44 UBI size vs employment: poverty-level ≈ zero impact1:31:36 ITSA Foundation gets grant from OpenAI Foundation for UBI work1:36:31 Wrap-upShow links:https://scottsantens.substack.com/p/marshall-islands-just-implemented-ubiSee my ongoing compilation of UBI evidence on Bluesky:https://bsky.app/profile/scottsantens.com/post/3lckzcleo7s24See my ongoing compilation of UBI evidence on X: https://x.com/scottsantens/status/1766213155967955332For more info about UBI, please refer to my UBI FAQ: http://scottsantens.com/basic-income-faqDonate to the Income To Support All Foundation to support UBI projects:https://www.itsafoundation.orgSubscribe to the ITSA Newsletter for monthly UBI news:https://itsanewsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribeSign up for the Comingle waitlist for voluntary UBI:https://www.comingle.usFollow Scott:https://linktr.ee/scottsantensFollow Conrad:https://www.linkedin.com/in/conradshaw/Follow Josh:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshworth/Special thanks to: Gisele Huff, Haroon Mokhtarzada, Steven Grimm, Bob Weishaar, Judith Bliss, Lowell Aronoff, Jessica Chew, Katie Moussouris, David Ruark, Tricia Garrett, A.W.R., Daryl Smith, Larry Cohen, John Steinberger, Philip Rosedale, Liya Brook, Frederick Weber, Dylan Hirsch-Shell, Tom Cooper, Robert Collins, Joanna Zarach, Mgmguy, Albert Wenger, Andrew Yang, Peter T Knight, Michael Finney, David Ihnen, Steve Roth, Miki Phagan, Walter Schaerer, Elizabeth Corker, Albert Daniel Brockman, Joe Ballou, Arjun ,' @Justin_Dart , Felix Ling, S, Jocelyn Hockings, Mark Donovan, Jason Clark, Chuck Cordes, Mark Broadgate, Leslie Kausch, Braden Ferrin , Juro Antal, centuryfalcon64, Deanna McHugh, Stephen Castro-Starkey, Tommy Caruso, and all my other patrons for their support.If you'd like to see your name here in future video descriptions, you can do so by becoming a patron on Patreon at the UBI Producer level or above: https://www.patreon.com/scottsantens/membership
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Episode 26 of The Basic Income Show!patreon.com/scottsantensThe Marshall Islands just made history: the world’s first permanent Universal Basic Income (UBI) is now live—paid to every citizen/resident (kids and adults) on an ongoing basis. In this episode of The Basic Income Show, Scott Santens, Conrad Shaw, and Josh Worth break down what’s happening, how it’s funded, and why this is a turning-point moment for global basic income.CHAPTERS00:00 Intro + what’s covered03:18 Marshall Islands launches the world’s first permanent UBI06:36 Payment options (direct deposit / check / USD stablecoin)07:09 How big is the UBI (PPP + share of GDP per capita)09:54 How they’re paying for it (trust fund / sovereign wealth fund)28:34 IMF targeting pressure + VAT (and why UBI changes the math)31:12 Cook County makes guaranteed income permanent (budgeted)36:40 BOOST Act: $250/month UBI in Congress + surtax design47:44 Trump accounts + Dell donation (why this isn’t basic income)58:42 Canada basic income bill advances (process + next steps)1:00:50 Canadian farmers union proposes guaranteed income1:09:54 Oregon unhoused youth: $1,000/month and housing outcomes1:14:58 Madison, WI pilot: $500/mo to parents — FT employment up1:19:25 Brazil natural large UBI experiment: daughters' military pension1:28:44 UBI size vs employment: poverty-level ≈ zero impact1:31:36 ITSA Foundation gets grant from OpenAI Foundation for UBI work1:36:31 Wrap-upShow links:https://scottsantens.substack.com/p/marshall-islands-just-implemented-ubiSee my ongoing compilation of UBI evidence on Bluesky:https://bsky.app/profile/scottsantens.com/post/3lckzcleo7s24See my ongoing compilation of UBI evidence on X: https://x.com/scottsantens/status/1766213155967955332For more info about UBI, please refer to my UBI FAQ: http://scottsantens.com/basic-income-faqDonate to the Income To Support All Foundation to support UBI projects:https://www.itsafoundation.orgSubscribe to the ITSA Newsletter for monthly UBI news:https://itsanewsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribeSign up for the Comingle waitlist for voluntary UBI:https://www.comingle.usFollow Scott:https://linktr.ee/scottsantensFollow Conrad:https://www.linkedin.com/in/conradshaw/Follow Josh:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshworth/Special thanks to: Gisele Huff, Haroon Mokhtarzada, Steven Grimm, Bob Weishaar, Judith Bliss, Lowell Aronoff, Jessica Chew, Katie Moussouris, David Ruark, Tricia Garrett, A.W.R., Daryl Smith, Larry Cohen, John Steinberger, Philip Rosedale, Liya Brook, Frederick Weber, Dylan Hirsch-Shell, Tom Cooper, Robert Collins, Joanna Zarach, Mgmguy, Albert Wenger, Andrew Yang, Peter T Knight, Michael Finney, David Ihnen, Steve Roth, Miki Phagan, Walter Schaerer, Elizabeth Corker, Albert Daniel Brockman, Joe Ballou, Arjun ,' @Justin_Dart , Felix Ling, S, Jocelyn Hockings, Mark Donovan, Jason Clark, Chuck Cordes, Mark Broadgate, Leslie Kausch, Braden Ferrin , Juro Antal, centuryfalcon64, Deanna McHugh, Stephen Castro-Starkey, Tommy Caruso, and all my other patrons for their support.If you'd like to see your name here in future video descriptions, you can do so by becoming a patron on Patreon at the UBI Producer level or above: https://www.patreon.com/scottsantens/membership