Silicon Valley VC firm is giving 100 families 2k/month in universal basic income experiment

 Y Combinator is Silicon Valley's number one start-up helper.  An accelerator, they call it, that finds diverse and simple ways to jump-start communities and businesses.

What will happen to humans in the age of automation?  That is the question Y Combinator has asked and delivered a potential answer for.

100 Oakland families will be given between $1,000 and $2,000 per month for, between, six and twelve months.  The people selected will be from an array of economic opportunity and a mixture of people unemployed and employed.

“The motivation behind the project is to begin exploring alternatives to the existing social safety net,” writes Elizabeth Rhodes, the first director of the non-profit arm YC Research.  “If technology eliminates jobs or jobs continue to become less secure, an increasing number of people will be unable to make ends meet with earnings from employment. Basic income is one way to ensure that people are able to meet their basic needs. We’re not sure how it would work or if it’s the best solution, which is why we want to conduct this study.”

It seems like an interesting plan in one of the wealthiest areas in the United States.  To balance out the playing field by supplying funds to your neighbors.  Voluntarism is admirable and often the way great things get done.