Thank you for helping us to select the best title and subtitle for the new book by Lynn Stout, Sergio Gramitto, and Tamara Belinfanti.
This book offers a powerful and simple plan for simultaneously accomplishing two far-reaching objectives: (1) providing a basic income for all citizens and (2) making capitalism more democratic and responsive to the will of the people. Unlike previous universal income proposals that were utopian pipedreams, this plan is practical, scalable, and achievable right now. It does not need to wait for government action but instead can start small—through the voluntary actions of corporations and individuals—and then expand over time.
The authors detail how we can create a universal fund (similar to a mutual fund) through donations of stock and other securities by corporations and individuals; how this universal fund will grow over time; how this fund will be owned by and provide income to all U.S. citizens (with similar funds created in other countries); and how all citizen owners of the fund will participate in governing the fund and directing its share voting choices.
And the authors show how this plan will shift critical leverage points in our economic system and unlock corporations’ enormous potential to be the solution rather than the problem. Through a creatively designed universal fund, we can give average citizens both more influence over and a larger share of the financial benefits from the corporations that are the engines of our economy. This plan can promote greater equality, provide more income security, reduce social tensions, encourage citizen engagement, raise popular understanding of and support for capitalism, and spur innovation and investment in the future. The result will be making capitalism work better for all while bringing hope to us, our children, and our society.