“Hindi lang po ito health crisis. Ito rin po ay isang socio-economic crisis. Kaya kailangan po para hindi mag-come to a stand still yung ekonomiya natin, now during community quarantine, and even after community quarantine, we need to make sure that our people have money to spend. Kung hindi, lalaki po ang krisis even after community quarantine. So, with the national government, the local government of Pasig will do everything that it can to make sure that our constituents have some degree of liquidity.”
In summary, if Mayor Vico Sotto is not a fan of Universal Basic Income now, it’s not hard to imagine that he will soon be, since he is already practicing its core principles.
If you enjoyed, learned something from, or were insipired by this article, kindly consider donating (via bank, G-Cash or Paymaya; if PayPal: paypal.me/filipinowriter), be one of my patrons at Patreon, or please contact me at filipinocreative@gmail.com — your way of providing me a basic income — so that I may continue my advocacies and continue to research & write more such articles.
All these stats mean that we need to get out frequently of our Twitter & YouTube bubbles and put more effort in spreading Andrew’s message on Facebook.
2) Once you have an FB account, look for your relatives (immediate, distant) & friends (childhood, high school, college, etc.) and add them as contacts. Facebook will also prompt you to find your contacts via your digital phone book.
Once you liked Andrew’s official page, click the “Following” pull down menu & select “See First,” and set “Notification” to On, so you can immediately share any posts from the page to our timelines.
Share, as well, the official page’s posts on your various FB groups (post slowly — around 10 minutes in between posts — or FB will block you from posting for days) or send it via FB messenger to your FB friends. Please make this Andrew Yang / Yang Gang related posts public, so others can easily find and share them.
4) Join either or both of these FB groups: Andrew Yang for President 2020 Public Fan Base (12K+ members for now) or the Americans for Andrew Yang (2K members). As you can see, we need to increase the membership of both groups. The great thing about these groups is that they are both public, so you can easily share all the posts from the group. The posts in the Public Fan base is moderated while Americans for Andrew Yang posts are automatically published, which is great because for time-sensitive posts like streaming, people should be able to see them immediately. If the admins of the Public Fan Base can make the posts unmoderated (published immediately; unwanted posts can be deleted immediately), that would also be great.).
I also suggest that the admin of the these and other public groups or pages start streaming Andrew Yang & Yang Gang events or hosting Watch Parties of Andrew Yang & Yang Gang related videos.
5) You can also join the Andrew Yang for President Basecamp 2020 (53K members), but it is private, so you need to copy paste any post or link before you can share them.
6) Speaking of streaming, please like The Zach And Matt Show FB page, so you can share their streams on Facebook. They only have 147 followers right now!
7) Create your own FB pages or FB groups dedicated to Andrew Yang. These may be for your own localities or your own circle of friends.
8) If you can create ads/boost posts on your Facebook pages to target certain areas and demographics, that would help Andrew’s campaign a lot. Try experimenting with various content to see what creates the most engagement.
9) If you do not have a budget for boosting posts, tag your friends in the comment section of your posts about Andrew, to either educate them about Andrew and/or his policies, or to alert them so they can also share your posts. This tactic is not as intrusive as tagging them directly on your posts.
That’s it for now, Yang Gang! We have definitely experienced bumps along the road, but this is great because we have gotten tougher and smarter. And one of the major online battlefields is Facebook, and we will also win that one! Forward!
If you enjoyed, learned something from, or were insipired by this article, kindly consider donating (if PayPal: paypal.me/filipinowriter), be one of my patrons at Patreon, or please contact me at filipinocreative@gmail.com — your way of providing me a basic income — so that I may continue my advocacies and continue to research & write more such articles.
Screen Cap of #YangGang from Paget Kagy’s Livestream of L.A. #YangGang Car Wash
And from these talented and avid collection of supporters — just like ALDUB — quite a number of “Yangsters” have emerged as influencers via the content that they create and or the role they play in the Yang Gang universe. This post is an attempt — hardly conclusive or authoritative — to introduce these lovely people to the uninitiated, and to the new Yang Gang members who are just joining and will be joining the Yang Gang due to the Yang Gang’s active Yanging (yes, it’s a verb) & Andrew Yang’s continuing ascent in the polls (as I revise this, Yang just got a surge in popularity and preference post-December 19 debate, & raised $16.5 milliom in the fourth quarter of 2019). Without further ado, here’s the #YangGangFamily!
This beautiful and intelligent actor and writer from California, who just learned about Yang in June, became the first go-to source of all things Yang and Yang Gang when she started to produce regular YouTube video updates & opinions, interviews, and livestreams. Her #YangGang adventures — often hilarious and sometimes suspenseful — with her British fiance Steven “Steve” Butler is must-watch. Yang Gang members and Paget herself have often commented how the Yang Gang is like a reality show. And they are right. But it’s better than a reality show because everything is unedited and unfiltered, mediated only by Paget’s adorable personality and her interaction with the Yang Gang via the chat section. Although she doesn’t want to be called “mom” (Mother of Dragons was the latest iteration/incarnation) by the rest of the Yang Gang, she, in a sense, nurtures the gang with her constant uploads and updates, keeping everyone motivated and engaged with her optimistic — but determined & feisty — outlook.
Steven “Steve” Butler
Paget’s fiance. Also called “Poor Steve” teasingly by the Yang Gang when he and Paget have a mini-fight. But how fateful is it that Paget’s boyfriend is a Tax Consultant and Value Added Tax (VAT) expert? Steve recently explained on Paget’s channel how a VAT works and how it can fund Andrew Yang’s Freedom Dividend.
Boyce — who’s known to moderate the channel for as long as 5 hours without going to the bathroom — invite diverse voices, and guide the topics to all things #YangGang including Andrew Yang’s policies, but the conversation is so free-flowing that it can go on other interesting tangents. Now and then, Boyce would upload shorter videos like updates, and has even featured my article11 Reasons Why I Support Andrew Yang! Indeed the channel’s title may as well be: Boyce Gathers and Welcomes All Voices.
Aaron is a filmmaker who covers Andrew Yang-related events, does interviews with Yang supporters, and also regularly livestreams his thoughts on Andew’s policies. He loves to answer or react to everyone’s questions and comments on the live chat. He was one of the content creators who was able to interview Andrew Yang via the $50,000 fundraising challenge, and asked excellent policy questions.
Brooke Lea Wood and Stuart “Stu” “Ghosts for Yang” Arbury
That’s it for now, Yang Gang! I’m sure I missed a lot of other popular Yangsters — it’s a huge and diverse family after all — but I’m sure the rest of the Yang Gang will point them out to you in the comments section. This is just to give you an idea of how fun it is to be a part of this life-changing gang. But who knows, I might be able to feature them in the future. For now, what’s important to note is that each of us has an important role to play in this amazing movement, and we will have an awesome and wonderful time doing it!
If you enjoyed, learned something from, or were insipired by this article, kindly consider donating (if PayPal: paypal.me/filipinowriter), be one of my patrons at Patreon, or please contact me at filipinocreative@gmail.com — your way of providing me a basic income — so that I may continue my advocacies and continue to research & write more such articles.
In this regard, I would like to seek your help in making the piloting of Unconditional Basic Income among EJK families a reality. In order to focus, I need to free up my mind of my own financial worry. Every month, I am always scrambling to come up with a little less than 15,000 pesos for rent and electricity. If I could only meet this basic need for even just THREE MONTHS, I’m sure I will be able to eventually launch a UBI project in one parish, and then if successful, expand the project later to other communities. I’ve already talked to leaders and priests in at least two parishes, and they are willing to give the UBI experiment a try.
I am, therefore, asking for donations of 500 pesos (10 USD) or 1,000 pesos (20 USD), or whatever you can afford, to help me support myself myself for at least three months (45,000 pesos or 900 USD), while I come up with a more long-term sustainable situation. My main plan is to apply for Basic Income grants and seek donations so I can pay myself and other volunteers, and then fund the pilot. Meanwhile, one NGO ally has indicated that they are willing to help out in terms of grant-seeking and provide the organizational/legal structure while my fellow advocates and I try to found our own non-profit.
Moreover, I will also continue to do the following:
The personal growth coach Barbara Sher has said in her talks and her books that one of the keys to realizing our wishes and dreams is to reach out to others and ask their help. My family, friends, fellow advocates and global citizens, I am now asking for your help. That said, I am deeply grateful for your taking the time to read this. If you cannot help with monetary donations, forwarding this to a friend will be greatly appreciated as well.
If you want to donate, you can help me via the following platforms:
Other: Or pls e-mail me at filipinocreative@gmail.com for other arrangements.
Again, thank you, and wishing that your own wishes come true and may you be showered with more blessings.
UPDATE: After initially sending this post out to friends and contacts, I have so far received 5,000 pesos in actual donations and pledges. Others have indicated that they will be donating soon. Thank you very much for your generosity! And thanks to all who shared this post!
If you enjoyed, learned something from, or were insipired by this article, kindly consider donating (if PayPal: paypal.me/filipinowriter), be one of my patrons at Patreon, or please contact me at filipinocreative@gmail.com — your way of providing me a basic income — so that I may continue my advocacies and continue to research & write more such articles.
In the video, he addresses the Yang Gang folks on Twitter, so I looked him up on the social media platform, but sadly found out from his most recent posts that Gretchen had died. In a YouTube video dated November 16, a distraught and tired-looking Billy explained that Gretchen passed away peacefully in her sleep on November 4. However, because of all the expenses, they haven’t kept up with their rent payments and were in danger of being evicted. He sought help — although with hesitation because of their previous generosity — from the Yang Gang via the GoFundMe page for Gretchen.
Billy Morgan’s latest video where he tells us the passing away of his wife Gretchen.
One of the reasons I’m writing this blog post because I’m assuming that there are still members of the Yang Gang (and even non-members) who haven’t heard of his story, and maybe would like to help. The power of our community is that aside from our sense of mission of bringing Andrew Yang to the White House, we are all guided by his campaign slogan, “Humanity First.” We are not just a movement — we are also a family, and we take care of one another. Thank you, in advance, Yang Gang!
If you enjoyed, learned something from, or were insipired by this article, kindly consider donating (if PayPal: paypal.me/filipinowriter), be one of my patrons at Patreon, or please contact me at filipinocreative@gmail.com — your way of providing me a basic income — so that I may continue my advocacies and continue to research & write more such articles.
If you are my friend or follower on social media, you may have noticed — and perhaps found it curious, if not weird, since I am a Filipino and not a U.S. citizen — that most of my posts are about the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. This post is where I explain why.
Next stop in the adventures, as people in the comment section recommended, was Joe Rogan’s podcast. For members of the #YangGang — the collective monicker for Yang’s supporters, and the campaign’s de facto hashtag — the Rogan podcast with Andrew Yang is usually the point of no return. Yang’s strength is the long-form interview, and once you hear one, especially this now iconic conversation, you are hooked for life. It was the same for me, and members of the Yang Gang can relate to this.
When you wake up, you want to watch the latest video or news or interview of Andrew Yang. Before you go to bed, you need to have your fill of Yang content. You have this urge to tell friends and family about this guy who is “the opposite of Donald Trump, the Asian guy who likes MATH.” MATH connotes love for facts and evidence-based solutions. It’s also the acronym for Make America Think Harder, the answer and/or antidote to Trump’s MAGA or Make America Great Again.
Andrew Yang talks to four new recipients of his 1,000 USD Freedom Dividend.
3.
Andrew Yang is extremely intelligent. He is well-read, and up to date about the newest evidence and data about the issues. He now has more than 160 policies (and growing) on his website Yang2020.com, ranging from big issues like Universal Basic Income, Healthcare/Medicare For All, Climate Change, Gun Safety, Harm Reduction and Decriminalization of drug use, to relatively smaller ones like paying student athletes, banning robo-calls, having a White House psychologist, etc. His intelligence also shines through in the way he has conducted this campaign, treating it like a start-up, and making it as organic as possible.
Andrew Yang is an optimist. One cannot fake one’s personality and character. And Andrew Yang’s positive energy oozes from his person and is infectious. Although he paints a dystopic future, he believes that we can do something about it with the right and creative solutions.
Andrew Yang unites. Andrew Yang has started a movement called the Yang Gang. And this movement is not just national, but international in composition. Domestically, it is highly diverse, made up of broad coalition of Democrats, Republicans, progressives, conservatives, independents, libertarians, disaffected Trump supporters, and very significantly, the politically disengaged. Internationally, you can find people in social media and the chat groups supporting him from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, etc.
For all these reasons, Andrew Yang inspires. Andrew Yang is a man with a vision, believes in that vision, and communicates that vision effectively. He has made not just millions of Americans believe in that vision, but the rest of world as well. The poor, the precariat, the workers, the middle class, the artists, the scientists, and the entrepreneurs, have seen that this man speaks the truth, and are now passing on that message with passion.
A supporter-created video of Andrew Yang’s vision for America.
Personally speaking, Andrew Yang has helped show me the way. For a while now, I have been financially challenged, and am at a crossroads on how to go on about living life, whether I should prioritize earning a living (freelance writing), or pursuing my art (creative writing), or helping others especially my countrymen/women living in poverty and suffering injustice. Basic Income has shown me that pursuing all these choices is possible — that is, if we all take care of each other via a regular stipend, living a life of purpose and meaning will not be a hard choice.
Andrew Yang has also shown me that anything is possible if everyone of us just starts to act. Yang saw the future, and he did not like it. No one was willing to confront the challenges in Washington D.C., so he did what all true leaders do: take it on himself. He has also proven to me that one person’s action can lead others to take action as well. The life counsel “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” has never been more true in Yang’s case. He is living proof that one’s generosity of spirit can make others be generous as well, in spirit and in kind. Andrew Yang’s example has empowered and enabled me to make up my mind: I will dedicate my time, however long it takes, to making Basic Income — in the U.S., my country the Philippines, and the rest of the world — a reality.
If you enjoyed, learned something from, or were insipired by this article, kindly consider donating (if PayPal: paypal.me/filipinowriter), be one of my patrons at Patreon, or please contact me at filipinocreative@gmail.com — your way of providing me a basic income — so that I may continue my advocacies and continue to research & write more such articles.
After a decade or so, I have decided to revive my creative writing project: a historical mystery novel set in Manila during the American Colonial Period, specifically during the 1930s or Comonwealth Era. It’s been a long dream of mine, and come to think of it, its genesis may be traced to more than two decades ago when I started reading & becoming interested in historical mysteries in the mid-90s, a couple of years after graduating from college in 1993 — I’ve been a mystery fan ever since I discovered the stories of Sherlock Holmes in my high school library.
The novel would be a perfect project to work on since it will be a point of convergence — invoking the Japanese spirit/concept of Ikigai — of some of my passions and interests: writing, mystery, history, heritage, and social issues. By writing a historical mystery novel, I hope to both entertain and educate, to help us learn more about our past in an interesting way so that we can understand ourselves better today, and perhaps aid us in our task of nation-building. (I have finished before a similar project: an unproduced historical screenplay about Aguinaldo & Bonifacio called “Ang Heneral at ang Supremo.”)
However, I cannot do this alone. Such a project would require investing a significant amount of time for research and the writing itself. I want to be focused in finishing the project while sustaining myself.
I have therefore decided to crowdfund the writing of this dream of mine. With your help, my goal is to come up with a finished book after one year. A 250-peso (5 US dollars) donation — but feel free to be generous! — from each of you will go a long way in sustaining me while I work on the project. I am aiming for 100 to 120 donors a month, or 1200-1440 donors in one year. In return for your help, I will reward you, in a year’s time, with an E-BOOK of my finished work.
The funds will go, specifically, to paying my monthly rent & other bills, expenses for research, and food for myself, and the five stray cats I have adopted: Cato, Robin, Marvel, Wolverine, & Storm. ☺ I also have to buy either a new or secondhand laptop since my decade-old computer notebook died on me more than a week ago. (Thankfully, the hard drive and data — photos & videos of advocacies and personal ones — were safe. I am seeking a second opinion from a reputable repair shop, but not really holding my breath. Right now, I’m writing this on my 2nd-gen iPhone).
That’s about it! If you want to come along with me on this exciting journey, you may send your donations via the following accounts or payment platforms. After sending the money, pls. write me an e-mail at filipinocreative@gmail.com with the subject: Historical Mystery, and include the following in the message: -your name -the amount you sent, -a photo of the deposit slip (or transaction, if possible) and -your e-mail address, if you would like me to include you in a mailing list for regular updates.
Banco De Oro (Katipunan Branch-Regis Center, Loyola Heights, Quezon City) Account number: 007640061501 Account name: Medardo M. Manrique Jr.
Landbank (University of the Philippines) Account number: 3076015537 Account name: Medardo M. Manrique Jr.
G-Cash/Paymaya: 09215482622
Paypal: filipinowriter@gmail.com
Pls feel free to spread the word and share this blog post via e-mail, social media, and various messaging platforms, including SMS.
Thank you very much, in advance, for your generosity.
I think the first time it really sank in was when the facilitator of our iDEFEND General Assembly approached me to ask if I would talk instead to the speaker later who at that point was answering her last set of questions, and I said, without hesitation, “No, I want everyone to hear this.” Three months ago, I most probably wouldn’t have done that. But that was before I came across Mel Robbins‘ book The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage (5SR).
How Does the 5 Second Rule Work?
So what is the 5SR? It is a personal growth tool to force yourself to stop worrying or being indecisive and to take action instead. How exactly does it work? All you have to do is say 5-4-3-2-1, and Go! Take action!
In the first part of book, Mel Robbins tells us how she came upon the idea of the 5SR. It was a very difficult part of her life. She was drinking too much, had trouble at work, and was having problems with her marriage. In the mornings, when the alarm would ring — so she can begin her day, take care of breakfast, and the kids — she would repeatedly press the snooze button. She was caught in a vicious cycle of worrying and dread.
One night, in bed while watching TV, she saw a NASA rocket blast off after the usual countdown, and that’s when the idea struck her. She would countdown herself to take action. The following morning, when the alarm rang, she 5-4-3-2-1 herself to get up without pressing the snooze button. And the rest was history. It completely changed her life. In all aspects of her life, she chose to use the 5SR to stop drinking, fix her relationship with her husband, help her husband get out of his business debt, find her passion as a life coach and speaker, and help hundreds of thousands of people with their lives. And, recently, it helped mine.
It was as if there was a personality change. Now, not to toot my own horn (magbuhat ng sariling bangko), I already was comfortable talking to people, and found my role as a connector among individuals and organizations in my advocacies. I was already comfortable as well in my own skin. During meetings and forums, I would share my thoughts at opportune moments. However, during this particular general assembly, it was different. It was as if, I added another level to my powers — “lumevel-up,” in Filipino slang. I did not hesitate to share my thoughts, question assumptions, etc. Kung walanghiya ako noon, mas naging walanghiya pa ako ngayon. (If I was shameless then, I was even “more shameless” now).
So why does the 5SR work? According to Robbins, the 5SR is a metacognition tool — metacognition refers to the state of being aware of what’s happening to your mind or thought processes — to force yourself to access your prefrontal cortex where rational processes/thoughts and conscious decisions occur. Instead of thinking of excuses or being caught in a loop of worry, you are forced — by counting 5-4-3-2-1 to take action, GO! Our brain doesn’t want the unfamiliar — its primitive way of keeping us safe. However, our brain doesn’t know that we already live in a different context. The 5SR is our way of short-circuiting, as it were, that evolutionary impulse to survive.
Activation Energy
In the book, Robbins explains that activation energy — coined by the legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience — is the reason why making change is so hard, and that the 5SR starts the process of breaking down this obstacle. She says:
Activation Energy is that “initial huge push of energy that’s required to change, — whether it’s to get a stalled car to move forward or yourself out of a warm bed in the morning.
When you start to count 5 4 3 2 1, it is the beginning of a chain of reaction that not only awakens the prefrontal cortex, but also gets you ready to make that physical “initial huge push” that’s required to change.
The more that you believe that you are in control of your life, your actions and your future, the happier and more successful you’ll be. A bias towards action which the 5SR develops is guaranteed to increase your feelings of control over your life.
At 18:57, Mel Robbins mentions the 5 Second Rule in her TEDx Talk
Health
Physical Health
If you have been putting off exercising for some time now, just 5-4-3-2-1, put on your shoes, go to the gym or take that first step, and start brisk walking or start jogging. Just 5SR, and put one foot forward in front of the other!
Or if you are tempted to eat that large slice of cake, just 5-4-3-2-1, and grab that banana or apple instead.
Mental Health
You can use 5SR as well to stop worrying. And if you have anxiety attacks you can try 5SR to conquer it. All you have to do is reframe it. According to Robbins who suffer from the condition, when you have panic attacks, you experience the same physical or biological reactions — you heart beats faster, your palms and armpits get sweaty, etc. It’s the same feeling you get when you just had a near-accident, except that you didn’t have one. Robbins says that when she experiences this, she tells herself that she’s just getting excited. By doing so, her brain now has an explanation of what’s happening to the body, and the mind will begin to calm down.
Robbins says you can also use anchor thoughts to fight off worrying and anxiety. If you’re worrying about giving a speech, for example, just tell yourself the satisfaction the audience members will feel when you’ve shared your knowledge. Or when travelling, and you are worrying about getting into an accident, just start thinking of something positive that you will do once you reach your destination, such as enjoying your time with family or experiencing a new adventure.
Relationships
In relationships, say what you have to say to your family or your relatives. Tell them how much they mean to you. Or just be present when they need you. You may not be given the opportunity to do so again. Just 5SR, and say it or do it!
Career
You can use the 5SR to explore what you want to do with your life. Use your curiosity to start researching or Googling that hobby or skill you have wanted to try for a long time. Then 5-4-3-2-1 yourself to attend that seminar or workshop to explore that hobby.
Going back to my iDEFEND GA, it was not only me who noticed my more confident self. There was a female advocate (from the parish community who helps relatives of drug war/extrajudicial killings) who told me “Natutuwa ako sa iyo.” (“You amuse me.”) I asked why. She told me I was so hyper. I told her it must be the Zykast I was taking for my coughing (hyperactive airways condition). Her male companion joked that whatever it was, that I should continue taking it. I told them briefly about the 5 Second Rule. (Just to make sure, that it was indeed the 5SR, I Googled and it was not the Zykast. 🙂 )
Reporting at the iDEFEND GA. (Photo by Jenny Linares)
My iDEFEND colleagues also noticed my active participation during the discussion. I told them about the Bullet Journaling I was doing — which I shared in my first post — but not about the 5 Second Rule. So I’m telling everybody now. (Speaking of journaling, just learned that Mel Robbins also designed a 5 Second Journal to help you become “the most productive, confident, and happiest you.”)
If you want a massive shift or change in your life, and if there’s only one book you would read this year (but better to read more!), you should buy the 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins. You won’t regret it. You will be inspired by: how an employee mustered the courage to talk to their CEO after being given another chance, and consequently the chance to move up the corporate ladder; how a teenager who unexpectedly passed away inspired others to seize the day and celebrate relationships; how a college student up and walked out of his law class, and enrolled as a Physical Education student in another university; and more stories of taking risks and overcoming self-doubt: people from all walks of life finally taking steps to achieve their dreams.
The 5SR is all about gaining, as Robbins says time and again, a bias towards action, it is about taking small steps — what Anne Lamott calls taking it Bird by Bird, in her eponymous book — to gain courage. Over time, these small moments will make you gain confidence, empower you, and will embolden you in other aspects of your life. So try the 5 Second Rule, if there’s something that you’ve been putting off for some time now that has the potential to change or improve your life, just 5-4-3-2-1 and Act! Would love to know how it goes.
If you have enjoyed, learned something from, or were insipired by this article, kindly consider donating(if PayPal: paypal.me/filipinowriter)or please contact me at filipinocreative@gmail.com — your way of providing me a basic income 🙂 — so that I may continue to research and write more such articles.
I also found out that he had written a book called Utopia for Realists. I bought the book, and it was so riveting that I read it in less than two days. It was like reading an activist Malcolm Gladwell, replete with fascinating anecdotes and data/evidence-based stories. The book actually discussed three topics: Universal Basic Income, 15-Hour Workweek, and Open Borders (advocating for passport/visa-less employment in another country, as opposed to the prevailing practice now which started during World War I to keep spies out). In this interview with Trevor Noah, Bregman talks more about the 15-Hour workweek, aside from his book and Basic Income. He also mentions the bullshit jobs that millions of people find meaningless.
UBI in Utopia for Realists
In the book Utopia for Realists, I learned that UBI or a fixed income to be received monthly by everyone — without any conditions — to meet his basic needs (this 10-minute Youtube video by our dear friends from Kurzgezagt explains the concept well), was proposed in some form by Thomas More in his book Utopia, Thomas Paine, Martin Luther King, the conservative economist Milton Friedman, and was even almost passed by the U.S. Congress during the time of President Nixon, if not for the objection of the Democrats in the Senate who said that the amount was not enough.
The story about how Pres. Nixon was also persuaded to amend the bill because his adviser Martin Anderson showed him a six-page report about the Speenhamland system in England at the end of the 18th century and the start of 19th century. The report was based on sociologist Karl Polanyi‘s classic book The Great Transformation, in which Polanyi described the system as a failure. The report made Nixon amend the bill which eventually led to its demise. The twist was that, later on, historians found out that Polanyi had based his assessment on erroneous and falsified data. Such stories left you wondering about the roads not taken in the history of humanity.
One important assertion by Bregman is how the poor make poor decisions because of the scarcity mentality. When one is pressed for time, money, etc., his or her ability to make wise decisions diminishes. For example, a study by behavioral scientist Eldar Shafir of sugarcane workers in India who harvested their crops only half of the year, showed that their IQ diminished by 14 points before harvest time.
An excellent video explanation by Kurzgesagt about Universal Basic Income (UBI)
UBI Addresses Inequality
Bregman also showed two graphs. One graph showed per capita GDP in the x axis, and index of social problems in the y axis. In this graph, there was no correlation between how wealthy a country collectively is and the amount of social problems it has. But when the x axis was replaced with inequality or the difference in income between the rich and the poor, there was a straight line which clearly showed the link. You can see the graph in this article Population Health: Behavioral and Social Science Insights. In other words, if we help reduce inequality with UBI, the effort would be worth it, as we would be addressing not just poverty, but a host of other societal problems.
He says that his friends in Silicon Valley all say that in 10 years, a lot of jobs will be lost to Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and automation. In particular, the jobs of truck drivers, people in retail, accountants, etc., will be endangered, and will cause social breakdown. He says that Universal Basic Income or what he calls the Freedom Dividend will provide a buffer to absorb the shock of job losses. The great thing is that his message is resonating even with Trump supporters and Republicans — just look at the comments section of his YouTube videos, and you will seldom see a negative comment. It seems that he is uniting the country with his message. It is, as he put it, not about moving Left or Right, but moving Forward.
This interview with The Atlantic will give you an excellent overview of presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s background and Universal Basic Income platform. This is also my first encounter with him, and the first video I saw of him.
In his own words, the Democrats have focused too much on other themes such as race and identity politics — nothing wrong with that according to him — but they have forgotten why a lot of people voted for Trump: job insecurity. Like many people, I believe Yang will be the next U.S. president, a man, again in his own words, who is the opposite of Trump: “an Asian who knows Math.” If you’re an American/U.S. Citizen or just someone curious about the details of his policies, Yang’s almost two-hour interview with Joe Rogan is must-watch/listen.
Andrew Yang explains to Joe Rogan how he will implement his Universal Basic Income policy once he becomes U.S. President
Fascinating stories of the leading advocates of Basic Income who did not wait for government, and went ahead with their UBI/BI experiments/initiatives.
The Economist & UBI: Guy Standing
And because of the docu, I learned, as I mentioned, about the work of Guy Standing. Please watch Standing’s TedXKlagenfurt video, and learn how their experiments in India has improved the lives of the poor, and emancipated them, especially the women. It is really must-watch.
Economist Guy Standing explains Universal Basic Income, how it should be a right that people should be given, and how their Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) / experiments have shown how Basic Income has improved the lives of people, and emancipated them.
I am now reading Guy Standing’s book, Basic Income: And How We Can Make It Happen. From the initial chapters, it seems that it is more comprehensive in its treatment of Universal Basic Income, including UBI’s long history, how to implement it, etc. For Guy Standing, UBI is a right because everyone must benefit from the commons.
My point is imagine if we crafted our taxes with the UBI in mind — everyone wouldn’t be left behind. It would be fair to everyone, with each person — even children and dependents — benefiting from the earnings/production of the commons. For now, this is a simplistic summary of what can be done, but I think you are getting my drift of an alternative vision of the future.
Speaking of 4P’s or the Philippine government’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) which started during the Arroyo presidency, it does seem to help the poor according to World Bank, but wouldn’t it be better with UBI, when it’s unconditional? Perhaps we can raise the amount, or remove the conditionalities and the bureaucracy so that the poor will have the freedom to do what’s best for them? Some things to consider. Will also include this in my future research.
As I continued studying UBI, I became more and more convinced that this is one of the main programs that we’re looking for to address the inequality — 21.6% of our kababayans live below the poverty line, as of 2015 according to the World Bank — and thus, reduce the social ills in our country. UBI will reduce criminality, improve our general health, and improve our general well-being.
UBI is also an advocacy which will touch on other advocacies: labor issues; women’s emancipation — they wouldn’t be dependent on their husbands anymore, or they wouldn’t resort to prostitution; ecology/environment, e.g., tax those contributing to climate change, and distribute the revenues to the people; corruption — where are we losing money in our budget process, e.g. the pork barrel and sums? — if we can save the money from the corruption, then we can direct it to UBI.
It had me thinking also of the livelihood programs we put together for the poor. For example, uniform livelihood programs may not fit the skills of all of the recipients. I was reminded of the families of the extrajudicial killing (EJK) victims we are helping. Their financial needs were different. Some stopped their food delivery service. Others were more concerned with the schooling of their children. If we can just give them cash, then they themselves know what to do best with the money. In the near future, I’m thinking of implementing a basic income or at least an unconditional cash transfer for these psychologically and financially devastated families, and see if this is indeed a better way to help them. A footnote, by the way: livelihood and psycho-social support for the children are among the main needs of these families victimized by the government’s brutal war on drugs (in future posts, will also share my learnings about alternative and evidenced-based drug policies that really work).
Speaking of the drugs, I was reminded when reading about the capability of the poor to wisely decide for themselves when given the chance. In the book High Price by neuropharmacologist Dr. Carl Hart, harm reduction advocate, his experiments with drug dependence showed that given the choice between drugs and money, the person would always choose cash. This validates the findings cited in Bregman’s book that as a rule, people do not spend their money on alcohol and drugs. They spend it on their basic needs, and activities or things which will improve their well-being.
Going back to how artificial intelligence will cause unemployment, the book by Kaifu Lee, AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order which discusses job displacement in China and the U.S. among other things, said we must focus on jobs which will be valuable in the future, like caring jobs, caretaking, nursing, teaching, etc. For UBI advocates like Bregman, Yang, and Standing, we must start replacing indicators like GDP with measurements which measure our general well-being: health, happiness, etc., This is because activities like volunteering, taking care of the elderly and the children, which are extremely valuable to society, are things not measured by the GDP. For Bregman and Yang, GDP is an outdated measurement meant to address the challenges of The Great Depression. A measurement akin to the Happiness Index will be more appropriate,
UBI From My POV
Personally, I can relate to UBI. As an advocate, I have long seen myself with ambivalence. Am fulfilled and happy, but often find myself financially challenged. This has been a problem that me and my fellow Filipino Cultural Creative (FCC) friends have been grappling with. How can we continue our work which we know is of great value to society? I think a Universal Basic Income is an excellent solution. We can work continuously without worrying where our next rent (as I’m worrying now 🙂 ) or food allowance would come from.
A few days ago, our writers group Freelance Writers Guild of the Philippines (FWGP) co-organized with UNI Global Union ASIA & Pacific (UNI Apro) a forum re the opportunities and current challenges facing freelance writers right now. Aimee Morales, the main founder of FWGP, at one point said that it’s hard to organize writers because they are trying to address their basic needs. I said that it was a chicken and egg situation, but if indeed we had a UBI, then that part of the problem of organizing would be taken care of somehow.
UBI & Work
Indeed. in a UBI society, we need to re-think our concept of work. Bregman has touched on this with his chapter on the 15-Hour Workweek. He tells about John Maynard Keynes who in 1930, just at the doorstep of the Great Depression, delivered a brief lecture called “Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren,” which predicted a hundred years hence, in 2030, we are going to work less hours because of our collective wealth.
Still researching UBI, I came across an article titled Living in Switzerland ruined me for America and its lousy work culture by a US Citizen who lived in Switzerland, and you can see the difference between our way of living which we patterned after the U.S. In Switzerland — and in other European countries, for that matter — rest and vacation are valued so much that you can be flexible with your working hours and still get paid handsomely.
Thus, UBI will make us think of how to redesign our society. Our country today has been drawn to the ideology of authoritarianism and the mishmash appeal of populism. I think what Filipinos are looking for right now is a vision of the future which can inspire them, give them hope. Their pains and frustrations — see my thoughts on an FB post here –have attracted them to populism/authoritarianism/fascism. As expected, many are now disillusioned with Duterte, and the rest will get dismayed — they will find out that Duterte is nothing but the same old trapo, but in wolf’s clothing, and is all about greed in power, manipulating and gaslighting them with fake news, misogyny, and threats of violence.
But in order to bring back to our fold those who are still clinging to what is now an illiberal democracy, we must give them an alternative vision: a rights-based, participative (not just representative) society/system, a new way of working and of appreciating work; a society where the citizens value one another, know how to rest, and take a breath; a society which knows that in order to develop as a nation, we need a happy citizenry — less anxious, well-rested, compassionate, abundance-minded. And I think UBI is one of the major ways to get there.
UBI & The Dream of a Better Society
In the following days, I will post more about how we can achieve this society and implement UBI. Will do more reading and consult economists, etc. and will blog about it. I’m also thinking of starting a non-profit to advocate for UBI.
And it seems that I’m not the one only looking into Basic Income. In an event last week — a talk by Nathan Quimpo of the Rise and Decline of the Left in Southeast Asia — Sen. Risa Hontiveros, when I asked her if she has heard about UBI, said that the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) is about to study it.
Meanwhile, Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo Onforio, dean of the U.P. School of Labor and Industrial Relations’ (UP SOLAIR), where we held our FWGP forum, said that he’s aware of UBI and Guy Standing’s work, and Michelle Belino of UNI-Apro said that UBI is one of their advocacies, and their Singaporean colleague and Regional Secretary Christopher Ng regularly gives talks about it.
I have also started evangelizing some of my fellow advocates, and some are inspired, or at the very least, see merit in the idea. Indeed, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is already upon us, where we will face a multitude of challenges, and UBI might well be one of the major solutions.
Make the Dream a Reality
The challenge, as articulated by Rutger Bregman, is how to bring this dream/vision into reality. He appeals for a strong will. In Utopia for Realists, he says “a worldview is not a Lego set where a block is added here, removed there. It’s a fortress that is defended tooth and nail, with all possible reinforcements, until the pressure becomes so overpowering that the walls cave in.”
He says that radical ideas start at the fringes, but become mainstream, not gradually, but in times of crisis. Moments of crisis for him, are instances of opportunities. He reminds us that the word “crisis” comes from the Greek word which means to “separate” or “sieve.” A crisis then “should be a moment of truth, the juncture at which a fundamental choice is made.” And the only way for us to make a wise choice is when we have long prepared for that crossroads.
Today, we are facing such a moment of truth. What’s happening to our country is a symptom of the systemic ills that we must overhaul. We should muster our collective will, and act deliberately and mindfully. UBI can serve as a catalyst. All we have to do now is educate ourselves, organize, and remain steadfast.
If you enjoyed, learned something from, or were insipired by this article, kindly consider donating (if PayPal: paypal.me/filipinowriter), be one of my patrons at Patreon, or please contact me at filipinocreative@gmail.com — your way of providing me a basic income — so that I may continue my advocacies and continue to research & write more such articles.
Reporting at the iDEFEND GA. (Photo by Jenny Linares)
