Britain’s protracted and problematic Brexit from the European Union, coupled with China’s falling exports and America’s record trade deficit, has deepened fears of a recession at the start of 2019.
Those looking beyond the doom and gloom believe the case for universal basic income (UBI) is getting stronger by the day – and now technological advancements are making it a viable option, moving it from theory to reality.
UBI is a revolutionary economic concept whereby every individual is granted a fixed, minimum wage to cover basic needs. With the threat of global financial crisis, projects that explore distribution mechanisms to assist the poorest in society are gaining interest and support.
For instance, GoodDollar[1], a research hub that is experimenting how decentralised cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology may enable models based on UBI with the central aim of reducing global wealth inequality, is generating interest from all over the world.
In mid-January, French crypto-finance website VideoBourse[2] spoke at length with Yoni Assia, eToro Co-Founder and Chief Executive, who launched GoodDollar at Web Summit in Lisbon in November 2018.
(GoodDollar’s official launch[3])
“GoodDollar is a non-profit project eToro is supporting,” said Mr Assia in the VideoBourse interview, acknowledging that his multi-asset investment platform has committed an initial $1 million. “The idea behind GoodDollar was that there needs to be a disruption to how money is being distributed and generated.
“One of the biggest issues in the world is a very simple thing: the rich get richer and poor get poorer. That leads to a growing inequality in society, and eventually that leads to very bad things. The way the system works leads to inequality – it’s how money is being distributed, and how money is being generated.”
Mr Assia explained: “For example, let’s assume
