What If Everyone Had a Free Basic Income?

WHAT IF

Would we be a happier society if all the money in the world was distributed equally to all 7.7 billion people on the planet?

Transcript

00:00 What does wealth look like to you?

00:07 Is it $100?

00:09 $1,000?

00:11 $1,000,000?

00:13 We can always go higher.

00:14 But how much is too much?

00:17 In today's world,

00:18 the richest 1% of the population

00:20 owns almost half of the world's wealth.

00:24 Does that seem right to you?

00:26 Well, let's level the playing field,

00:27 and see what we get.

00:29 This is WHAT IF,

00:31 and here's what would happen

00:33 if money was distributed equally.

00:36 According to Forbes Business Magazine,

00:38 the top 10 richest people in the world

00:41 own a combined $745 billion in wealth.

00:45 That's more than most countries

00:47 produce in goods and services every year.

00:50 After the 2008 financial crisis

00:52 and the Occupy Wall Street movement,

00:54 you're probably aware that

00:56 wealth distribution in the world

00:58 is, well...

01:01 And studies show that the divide

01:03 is only getting bigger.

01:05 But what if we took all the world's cash,

01:08 investments, assets, etc.,

01:10 sold them,

01:12 and gave every person in the world

01:13 an equal share?

01:15 Would we be a healthier, happier society?

01:18 We can wage a war on poverty,

01:20 but can humans win against greed?

01:24 If you liquidated all of the world's

01:26 productive assets and combined them

01:28 with all the money in the global economy,

01:30 you'd be looking at a huge pile of cash,

01:33 roughly $250 trillion.

01:36 In fact, that's so much money

01:38 that if you stacked that $250 trillion

01:41 in $100 bills,

01:42 it would stretch more than halfway to the Moon.

01:45 But how far would this money get you

01:47 and everyone else in the world

01:48 if it was divided equally?

01:50 Well, take $250 trillion

01:53 and divide it between the current world population

01:55 of 7.7 billion,

01:57 and everyone is worth about $32,500.

02:02 Feeling shortchanged?

02:04 Don't.

02:05 Roughly 75% of the world's population

02:08 lives on less than that every year.

02:11 The equal distribution of the world's wealth

02:13 would certainly give a lot of people

02:14 a much-needed leg up.

02:16 Those living in extreme poverty

02:18 and lower-income households

02:20 could afford more food,

02:21 water,

02:22 clothing,

02:23 shelter,

02:24 and other necessities that some of us take for granted.

02:27 But how long would those opportunities last?

02:30 In a world of 7.7 billion people

02:32 who are motivated by different things,

02:34 and who have different skill sets,

02:36 maybe not long at all.

02:38 The first big hurdle would be financial education.

02:41 In order to keep relative wealth equality,

02:43 people would have to be smart with their money.

02:45 Now, that doesn't mean cut out all entertainment

02:48 and stick to the bare necessities.

02:49 But don't do this.

02:51 (Music)

02:55 We also have to wonder

02:56 what would happen to the quality of goods and services

02:58 in a world where everyone makes the same,

03:00 and there's no incentive to innovate or work harder.

03:04 Without strict regulations,

03:05 you can imagine how this egalitarian society

03:08 could revert to one very much like our own.

03:11 The world is full of entrepreneurs,

03:14 people who are looking to make a buck,

03:15 or simply want to make a positive contribution to society.

03:19 You can see how these people

03:21 might invest their share of the world's loot into new ideas.

03:24 They could convince others

03:25 that the product of their ideas is worth paying for.

03:28 And if enough people buy into it,

03:31 once again,

03:32 the market will give rise to millionaires,

03:34 billionaires,

03:35 and huge corporations.

03:37 In short,

03:38 some people will use their share to become very rich,

03:41 while others may fall back into poverty

03:43 due to a lack of education,

03:45 or unforeseen circumstances like an illness

03:47 or a natural disaster.

03:50 But despite the resurgence of an economic divide,

03:52 there's still hope in this scenario.

03:55 Universal basic income projects

03:56 have been tested around the world

03:58 to generally favorable results.

04:00 While some studies revealed that

04:02 when guaranteed a lump sum of money every year,

04:04 work effort decreased,

04:06 they also showed that

04:07 universal basic income increased school attendance,

04:11 reduced medical costs and mental health cases,

04:13 and was not squandered on luxury goods.

04:17 Universal basic income isn't a new idea,

04:19 but we're still learning how to make it work effectively.

04:23 Naturally,

04:23 a perfect world where everyone has the same amount of money

04:26 isn't feasible.

04:28 But that doesn't mean we can't ensure

04:29 everyone gets enough food,

04:31 water,

04:32 clothing,

04:32 and shelter.

04:34 If you want more than that,

04:35 you're going to have to work for it.

04:37 Learn how to be smart with your money,

04:39 manage it well,

04:40 live within your means,

04:41 and keep an eye out for good opportunities.

04:44 Are you waiting for that billion-dollar idea

04:46 to pop into your head?

04:48 It won't come on its own,

04:49 but it might help if you start asking yourself,

04:52 "What if?"

04:53 [music]

04:55 [music]

04:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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