If conservatives really want to do away with “wasteful” and “overly bureaucratic” social services in the U.S. - services like Medicaid, Social Security and foodstamps - there’s an easy alternative.

It’s simple. It encourages personal responsibility. And it will do away with our current mess of programs that make up our social safety net. All we have to do is guarantee every person a universal, and unconditional, minimum income.

It sounds unusual. It sounds like we’d just be paying people not to work. And why would anyone choose to work if they’re receiving FREE money already?

That’s the knee-jerk response - but it doesn’t hold up in real-world experiments.

A paper published in 2013 looked at two groups in Uganda: one group that received a no-strings attached grant equal to their annual income - about 380 dollars per person - and a control group that received no grant. And what did the unemployed youth do when they were “paid not to work”?

The group that received the grant worked on average an extra 17 hours in comparison to the control group. And they showed a 41% increase in earnings four years after receiving the grant. They invested in skills and businesses. Individuals were 65% more likely to practice a skilled trade two years after receiving the grants.

And researchers have seen similar results from other experiments with unconditional income. In Kenya incomes increased by 33% and assets increased by 58% just one year after people received an unconditional $513 grant.

Those researchers also found that the grant reduced hunger and that the recipients were better off in terms of psychological well-being. Which just makes sense. A guaranteed income lets households make a real budget and frees people from focusing only on where their next meal will come from.

Those are numbers that show that a guaranteed minimum income promotes economic productivity and real growth from the base of the market. But those are just examples in the developing world. What about evidence from the world’s developed countries?

Read more here.

-Thom

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... REJECTED! Greeks: "Democracy Won't Be Blackmailed" (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

Be sure to check out our newest video: RESTORATION - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners / Visit GreenWorldRising.org to check out all the videos: CARBON, LAST HOURS & GREEN WORLD RISING - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners

Need to Know: REJECTED! Greeks: "Democracy Won't Be Blackmailed"
- Dr. Mark Weisbrot, Center for Economic and Policy Research/Just Foreign Policy

Big Picture Rumble:
- Kevin Martin, Project 21
- TJ Helmstetter, Progressive Strategist/Commentator
- Bryan Pruitt, RedState

Best of the Rest: Cuba...Will Gitmo Be Closed?
- Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange/CodePink/Drone Warfare:Killing By Remote Control

Monday's Daily Stack

Article: "Greece’s eurozone future in doubt after decisive No victory" by Kerin Hope and Henry Foy and Stefan Wagstyl.

Article: "Goldman Sachs faces scrutiny over Greek debt swap" by Elena Moya, 18 February 2010.

Article: "The Great American Bubble Machine" by Matt Taibbi.

Article: "“We gave an example of democracy” says Greek Prime Minister" by Seamus Kearney.

Article: "North American Free Trade Agreement" (NAFTA) by Wikipedia.

Article: "General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade" (GATT) by Wikipedia.

Site: World Trade Organization.

Article: "Permanent normal trade relations: U.S. and China" by Wikipedia.

Case: "Buckley v. Valeo", 1976.

Article: "Who Pays? Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy: A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States" by The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Article: "Message to Congress on the Concentration of Economic Power" by Franklin D. Roosevelt, April 29, 1938 .

Law: "Sherman Antitrust Act", 1890.

Article: "Enjoying the Low Life?" by Nicholas Kristof .

Article: "Lawmakers slash public records access in budget bill" by Jason Stein.

Article: "Scott Walker And Wisconsin GOP Retreat On Open Records Limits" by AP.

Article: "Trump deletes personal attack on Bush" by Jane C. Timm.

Article: "World Press Freedom Index 2015: decline on all fronts" by Reporters Without Borders.

Speech: "Madison Square Garden Speech", President Franklin D. Roosevelt, October 31, 1936. "They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred"

Hour Two: Why are conservatives so enamored of Donald Trump?
- Neil McCabe, Gravis Insights/Townhall

Article: "Bill Clinton: Zero net migration from Mexico since 2010" by Jon Greenberg.

Article: "Ted Cruz: 'I salute Donald Trump'" by Colin Campbell.

Article: "As Donald Trump surges in polls, Democrats cheer" by Philip Rucker.

Article: "Latino Leader On Donald Trump: He Is ‘Exposing A Lot Of The Dirty Truths Of The Republican Party’" by Kira Lerner.

Article: "U.S. women's soccer team defeats Japan in World Cup final 5-2" by CBS News.

Letter: "to Edgar Newton Eisenhower, November 8, 1954" by Dwight Eisenhower. "Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

Article: "Supporting NAFTA Was the Kiss of Death for Democrats --Why Dems Should Think Twice About Voting for TPP" by Sarah Anderson.

Article: "Mandate for Leadership" by The Heritage Foundation.

Article: "Bernie Sanders Voted Against the FIRST GULF WAR. His Words That Day Were Prescient!" by sabrina 1.

Article: "Tax plan passes Kansas House and Senate, Brownback set to sign" by Bryan Lowry.

Article: "Sanders backs Greek voters" by Hanna Trudo.

Article: "When Greece Forgave Germany's Debt" by Pan Pylas and David Mchugh.

Article: "Treaty of Versailles" by Wikipedia (28 June 1919, at the end of World War I).

Article: "Tsipras raises Nazi war reparations claim at Berlin press conference with Merkel" by Ian Traynor, 23 March 2015.

Article: "Printing the Drachma: The Messy Future of a Post-Euro Greece" by Matthew Campbell, Alex Webb.

Article: "The tea party radio network" by Kenneth P. Vogel and Mackenzie Weinger.

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Victoria Jones

Article: "SC Begins Debate Over Confederate Flag Removal" by Cortney Smalley.

Article: "Probe of S.C. killings widens" by John Monk.

Article: "Greece Says ‘NO’ To European Bailout" by William McDonald.

Article: "Tsipras, Merkel agree to discuss Greece's proposals at summit" by AFP.

Article: "Tsipras calls Putin in wake of referendum result" by AP.

Article: "EU official: Migrant boats also carrying IS fighters" by John-Thor Dahlburg.

Article: "Obama To Visit Pentagon, Receive ISIS Briefing" by Sydnee Fried.

Article: "Greens plan week of protests against oil trains" by Timothy Cama.

Article: "Kerry Says Iran Deal “Could Go Either Way”" by Anna Merod.

Article: "Hillary Campaign: 'We're Worried About' Bernie Sanders, 'He's a Force'" by Daniel Halper.

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Site: Governor Free Don Siegelman.

Article: "TRNS News Notes- 7/6" by Victoria Jones.

Hour Three: Social Democracy Is 100% American
- Professor Harvey Kaye, The Fight For The Four Freedoms: What Made FDR And The Greatest Generation Truly Great/University of Wisconsin-Greenbay

Book: Thomas Paine and the Promise of America by Harvey J. Kaye.

Article: "Social Democracy Is 100% American" by Harvey J. Kaye.

Book: "Agrarian Justice" by Thomas Paine.

Book: "Rights of Man" by Thomas Paine.

Article: "The unexpected rise of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump" by Kathleen Parker.

Article: "Koch-Backed Group Calls For No More National Parks" by Claire Moser.

Article: "Man Admits To Plotting To Massacre Muslims, Judge Sets Him Free Anyway" by Judd Legum.

Article: "Police Union Fights To Keep The Names Of Officers Who Shoot Civilians Secret" by Sam P.K. Collins.

Article: "Leaked Text Shows Trade Agreement Threat to Deregulate Financial Services" by Robert Weissman.

Article: "Michigan’s Snyder targets local control on minimum wage" by Steve Benen.

Article: "Jubilee (biblical)" by Wikipedia.

Article: "14th Amendment, July 9, 1868 (citizenship, representatives, public debt)

Article: "There are two kinds of people who want to cut Social Security" by eridani.

Article: "14 photos: Bernie Sanders attends Waukee's Independence Day parade"

Article: "26th Amendment". Vote for 18 year olds.

Article: "A Summary View Of The Rights Of British America" by Thomas Jefferson.

Article: "Supreme Court To Hear Case Seeking To Gut Public Sector Unions" by Ian Millhiser.

Article: "State Moves To Block Cities From Increasing Minimum Wage Or Requiring Paid Sick Leave" by Bryce Covert.

Article: "Victory for Democracy as Court Sides with Voters over 'Self-Dealing Legislators" by Deirdre Fulton.

Article: "Black Americans Won't Stop Being Poorer Unless Banks Stop Discriminating" by A Mechele Dickerson.

Article: "Obama To Unveil Plan To Bring Overtime Pay To 5 Million More Workers" by Dave Jamieson.

Tuesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

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Will Bernie Sanders be our next President?

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Rumble: #BernieNextFDR - Pass It Around!

Rumble: Time to Demilitarize the Police

Fast-track could mean the end of the Post Office!

The Hidden Truth About July 4th

The Good, the Bad - and the Very, Very Phemicly Ugly!

Time to Ditch Welfare for a Basic Income?

Full Show 7/2/15: Racist, Greedy Donald Trump Surging in Polls

Tonight’s Rumble talks Bernie’s massive rally in Madison, WI, the rise of Donald Trump, and the new DOJ report detailing how police incited violence in Ferguson. Thom discusses the continued attacks on the U.S. Post Office with American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein and in tonight’s Daily Take Thom discusses why the U.S. needs to provide everyone a basic minimum income.

Caller: Goldman Sachs is Like the Slave Owners!

How and Why TPP Will Make US Like Greece...

Thom Hartmann on Economic & Labor News: 7/6/15

Bernie Sanders: NO to TPP!

A Political Earthquake and No One Covered it!

Caller: How can I Make the Black Community Aware of Bernie Sanders?

Caller: I'm Coming Around to Bernie Sanders...

Teddy Roosevelt & Bernie Sanders: We Need a Living Wage!

Why Chicago Won’t Go Bankrupt—And Detroit Didn’t Have To...

Bernie Sanders Channels Ted Kennedy...