Defining Basic

I live off a Capital funded Basic Income. Defining Basic is a challenge. I have one foot in the UK, and one foot in South Africa. In the UK, the most recent survey of Personal Incomes puts the median amount at £21,000. For one person. The median wage in South Africa is just short of R40,000 a year for a family of 3.5. That’s about £2,150. It all gets complicated (tax, cost of living, etc.) but my goal when I stopped employment 5 years ago was to live off less than £2,000 a month. Luxury, as Monty Python would say. The UK has 1.3 million, and South Africa over 10 million, unemployed people. Again, it gets complicated. The support available is different. I believe it is possible, with time, to build Community Wealth Funds that could fund Basic Incomes. There are lots of issues to work through, but I am excited by the prospects of the creativity that could be unleashed in a world where everyone is empowered with Financial Security. Where everyone has the Endurance and Resilience to explore and develop their skills, knowledge, and passions. That is a world worth building towards.

Four Yorkshiremen