US Democratic presidential 2020 candidate Andrew Young is running on a fascinating political platform, the centerpiece of which is “universal basic income.” (UBI) Modeled on the Alaska Permanent Fund, which for 4 decades has provided every Alaska citizen with a $1,000 – $2,000 annual dividend derived from a percentage of the oil industry’s profits made on the sale of Alaska crude oil, Yang’s “Freedom Dividend” seems a promising idea as the “4th Industrial Revolution” – automation, AI, and the merging of natural, human and technological environments – emerges. Here’s Yang talking with Jimmy Dore yesterday about UBI.

Here at Vermont Independent, we have championed the notion of the “Commonwealth,” which is a different way of conceptualizing Yang’s UBI. The basic premise? All of us share a “Commons” – our land, our air, our water, our human-built roads, bridges, public libraries and schools – and when organizations and corporations use or extract resources from our collectively owned Commons, charging them “rent” in the form of a “dividend” seems a “win win” scenario and a way to preserve and protect our “Commonwealth.” This is the foundational idea behind the Alaska Permanent Fund, which we have written about here.

The conceptual different between UBI and our Commonwealth? The former treats individuals as isolated and atomized – give each person free money! – and the latter treats individuals as part of a larger whole. We like the latter. Free Vermont, and long live the Untied States of America!