- From: Christopher Allen <ChristopherA@lifewithalacrity.com>
- Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2025 22:35:34 -0700
- To: Wayne Chang <wayne@spruceid.com>
- Cc: Melvin Carvalho <melvincarvalho@gmail.com>, Manu Sporny <msporny@digitalbazaar.com>, public-credentials@w3.org
- Message-ID: <CACrqygA2vWBcDMYQXzw90NDwm9jAmyrkMGfJaRAa4bU1FVa2xQ@mail.gmail.com>
On Fri, Mar 21, 2025 at 23:11 Christopher Allen < ChristopherA@lifewithalacrity.com> wrote: > I heard this week from Mark Miller about a concept of Universal Basic > Capital, which though I don’t completely understand, scratches an itch that > I feel has been missing from UBI ideas. > On Fri, Mar 21, 2025 at 8:43 PM Wayne Chang <wayne@spruceid.com> wrote: > chris pls tell us more > I'm not an expert, but just trying to succinctly explain what I understand about it. The essential idea of Universal Basic Capital is to offer economic security by shifting the focus from periodic cash benefits to sustainable, long-term wealth creation. This model ensures that every citizen can share in the nation's prosperity, laying the groundwork for enduring financial stability rather than simply addressing immediate income needs. At its core, UBC provides a capital grant at key life stages—such as at birth or upon reaching adulthood—that individuals can invest in assets like real property, stocks, or other investment vehicles. The returns generated through dividends, interest, or capital gains aim to build sustainable wealth over time, empowering citizens to develop a secure financial future, but also with benefits to the larger economy. This approach not only supports immediate financial needs but also democratizes wealth by giving every person a stake in the country’s economic success. By emphasizing asset accumulation over recurring cash payments, Universal Basic Capital seeks to reduce economic inequality and promote long-term stability. However, implementing UBC presents significant challenges. While citizen choice in managing investments is a key advantage, it also carries the risk of poor decision-making, potentially necessitating safeguards like requiring diversified portfolios or standardized national funds unless individual competency can be demonstrated. Additionally, the system must ensure sufficient liquidity for accessing funds in times of personal crisis, and to address issues of intergenerational equity—deciding whether UBC assets should be inherited or redistributed—to maintain fairness across society. In many ways it has all the challenges that Manu pointed out about UBI, but as I said I feel "it scratches an itch", a twist on UBI that I'd never heard of before. Possibly combined with ideas from some other UBI variants (like voluntary UBI) it could be poweful. -- Christopher Allen
Received on Saturday, 22 March 2025 05:36:15 UTC