2021: Investing in the Future

The ROI of Basic Income

Back in 2016 a friend asked me my thoughts on basic income and I replied that it was a good idea, as long as people were productive. A pretty typical response from an American raised in the Protestant Work Ethic framework which emphasized hard work and thrift as the cornerstones of a respectable life.

Since then, I’ve educated myself about the subject through the writings of Scott Santens, reflected on my own circuitous work path and rethought the whole story of valued work.

Illustration by Amanda Ray, info from her Patreon page

My Path

In 2002, the city of Austin was highlighted in Richard Florida’s book The Rise of the Creative Class. This inspired the mayor, city council and other community leaders to read the book and think about the future of Austin from a different perspective.

For me, reading the book, getting educated about artisan work by Craig Lopez and then spending the summer working on a project in San Francisco brought forward the Texas Legacy Arts Incubator (TLAI) concept in which cultural legacy/building arts would be used to teach math & science. Back in 2002, the more marketable STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) concept wasn’t around, no doubt that would have made selling the TLAI concept much easier.

It’s now 16 years later and the…