UBI in an App!
rolling out in 2021
Hi folks. I have a BIG announcement.
Basic income is coming in 2021.
If you are an American citizen with a bank account, you will be able to be one of the first human beings to receive a sustainable, permanent, guaranteed, all-inclusive income floor.
This year.
It’s called Comingle.
Let me explain…
The Why
If you’ve followed any of my work in recent years, you know that I’m all about universal basic income (UBI). I believe it’s our best chance to move forward and upward as a prosperous, sustainable, and humane civilization. I believe it’s how we can and must unleash humankind across the board.
I don’t come across these beliefs naively or without due diligence. I’ve attacked this issue full-time as my all-consuming passion since 2016. I designed, fundraised, and implemented a UBI pilot for 22 American participants for two-and-a-half years. My wife Deia is working with a team of filmmakers and editors to create a docuseries, called Bootstraps, that will share the participants’ stories with the world in 2021. I’ve researched and written extensively on every angle of the subject, from the messaging to the policy details to the philosophy to the grassroots movement to the math of UBI. Along the lines of the math, I created a special UBI calculator to share with the public the real numbers behind various potential basic income policy proposals in America, both at macroeconomic and household levels. I even go by @theUBIguy on all social media.
All of my efforts, like most of the efforts in the larger UBI movement, have been aimed at informing and energizing the American public in order to push the US government toward adopting a national UBI policy as soon as possible.
However, I’ve dealt with enough policy-makers and talked with enough everyday folks to know two things:
- The government is a slow-moving beast.
- People are already hurting, today and every day.
So, while we continue pushing the government toward action, we shouldn’t rely on our elected leaders alone to push us toward that finish line. We need to get creative in every way we can.
Fortunately, we live in a time exploding with new possibilities. Last year, I joined a project designed to accelerate us to UBI in the quite near term even if the powers that be won’t be able to get in gear any time soon.
A Private UBI
It’s called Comingle. Check out the website for the full details.
Basically, we’re sidestepping the government to create an online platform for a sustainable UBI structured around solidarity and inclusivity. It will not rely on philanthropic dollars or government funding. Much like a lending circle, a mutual aid network, or the tithe in a religious community, everyone chips in a reasonable amount (we’re starting at 7% of income). Unlike those other groups, everyone also automatically receives the same payout back as everyone else, every single week, no questions asked.
Assuming the population of Comingle members resembles the American population, over 60% of members will come out ahead each week. What does that look like?
- It might look like an extra $120/week ($6,000/year) for a family pushed out of work by COVID lockdowns and struggling to keep food on the table.
- It might look like an extra $30/week ($1,500/year) for someone making $10/hour working full-time.
- It might look like a financial cushion for a gig worker experiencing a lull in jobs or clientele.
- It might look like breaking even for a two-adult household that’s making a over $85K/year .
- It might look like chipping in $10/week for a couple making six figures and wanting to give back in a way that’s hyper-efficient, reliable, and powerful.
- It might look like chipping in 6% or more of a household’s income… IF that household is making more than $350,000/year PER adult. And again, that money will be redistributed incredibly efficiently to those in need, compared to other existing charities or programs.
To start, any American adult with a bank account will be able to join. As we grow, we will aggressively expand services and partnerships to help those without bank accounts get banked so that nobody who wants to join in will be left out. We are building something to become truly universal as soon as possible.
First Steps — How You Can Join In
We’re building out the website at this very moment. Here are two things you can do to help us bring this to the general public as soon as possible:
Sign up for the wait list to be informed when we launch.
Just click the “get notified” button on the Comingle website. Tell your friends, too, and the more the merrier. What we’re building will only get stronger the more people get involved, because the Comingle community’s prosperity comes from its members themselves. It’s the literal manifestation of “we’re all in this together.”
Our credo: “Strength in Numbers”
Apply for our beta test group!
Sign up to take the two-minute survey if you’re interested in helping us build this thing. We’re going to start testing out the program in “preview mode” in the next couple of months with 50–100 carefully-selected individuals who are willing to create the first accounts with us. No actual money will be exchanged during preview mode. If you are selected to become a beta tester, you’ll create a membership, link up your bank accounts, and check as the hypothetical transactions are calculated each week for a month or two. As we build out and refine the site, you’ll get to see the user dashboard, the message boards, the stats, etc. We’re looking for people who are excited to stay in touch and let us know what works for them, what they’d like to see, and whether or not all of the transactions make sense as we ensure all of the bugs are worked out before launching the full version and opening this up to the general public.
Looking Ahead
I’m incredibly excited to be forging ahead down this path with you all. There’s never been a more pressing time nor a more ripe opportunity to improve the way our society functions for its people.
It’s time to recognize that we’re all on the same team, and that maximum success for the team requires that every member be able to step forward confidently onto the field. It’s time to lift each other up, once and for all.
Want to read more? Here’s a handy list of links to all my Medium pieces on basic income.
