After two years in Finland, one of the first Universal Basic Income experiments in the world, found that giving people $640/month made them “happier but jobless.”
This left me thinking, UBI needs a partner (or two).
The first is purpose. If people have a purpose, they will actively seek to make the world a better place, and luckily, making the world better often leads to job prospects.
This concept leads to the second potential partner and that is the ability to create value. I think this is a natural ability that is not nurtured in most people, thus is doesn’t present itself. Purpose, without an intentional focus on value creation can lead to pointless activity that does not lead to job prospects. Arguing with trolls on social media about your purpose is nice, but it doesn’t create much value.
An intentional value-creation lens can transform a purpose to a job. UBI provides the safety net to make this possible, but unfortunately most people don’t have the mindset to make it happen. I think the gap lies in education and social connection.
If we could pair UBI with purpose-building and value creation for all, we might have a model for the future.