United Nations UBI for International Trade

1 Credit, per person, per day

I propose that:

1. The United Nations establish a Universal Basic Income of 1 credit per day for every adult human being on the planet. — #UNUBI
2. The UN Credit by international agreement may not be taxed or confiscated. An individual’s credits may not become the property of a husband, landlord, employer, local, or national government, but can only be bought from the individual in a mutually agreed to and free transaction for other currency.
3. The UN Credit by an international agreement will become the only legal currency for any and all international transactions for real goods and services. For example, a company wanting to buy oil would have to trade its dollars, euros, or yuan for UN Credits and then buy the oil.
4. It will float on the international currency exchange. Sovereign nations will still control their fiat currencies and have complete control over their internal fiscal policy.

This creates a thing of value directly connected to every human being on the planet, giving them something of economic value to trade within their local economy.

It gives all countries a way to engage in international trade with a common unit of account, allowing their internal currencies to float as needed, allowing them to create and retire debt with sovereign currencies attached to the real productive capacities and limits of their economies, but still have something of value, tied directly to the people of their nation, desirable to all nations of the world.

I am not convinced that the economic value of the UN Credit would come close to providing a basic income. It might be of negligible value in the US at around a dollar a day, but that same dollar a day value in other countries might be very meaningful. And it would in effect be a form of tax on all international trade, which might ever so slightly impede it. But the value of the “tax” would go directly and evenly to all individual human adults in the world. It would provide an example of universality and #HumanityFirst economic policy, a model from the UN to all the nations of the world of these basic principles.

It is very important that the credit not be means-tested, that it be truly universal. That is essential to protect it from partisan politics and erosion of support. The wealthy American businessperson and the subsistence farmer in the developing world should receive it equally. It is also essential that it can not be taxed or confiscated by others as that provides economic empowerment of the least powerful in our society. A small push from the bottom up. A simple app with biometric data should address most issues related to distribution and fraud limitation.

I am very curious to read in the replies any suggestions for improvements, questions that need to be answered, or strong critiques that you think must be resolved for this to work. Please feel free to share the idea, especially with anyone who might be able to introduce such a concept to policymakers or influencers.

Thank you,

Joe