There is a raging debate in America whether or not a universal basic income (UBI) would work here the way it has in many other established countries.

To find out, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has run a quiet experiment – and now, the results are in.

The “unconditional cash study” was conducted by nonprofit OpenResearch, and the results are pretty interesting.

They were detailed in a recent report.

“We do see significant reductions in stress, mental distress, and food insecurity during the first year, but those effects fade out by the second and third years of the program. Cash alone cannot address challenges such as chronic health conditions, lack of childcare, or the high cost of housing.”

The research included 3,000 people in Texas and Illinois whose income was below $28,000 a year.

30% of them received $1,000 a month, while the other 70% received just $50, and were considered a control group. The experiment lasted 3 years.

In the group of people who received the larger payments, spending increased about $310 a month. Most of that went to rent, food, and transportation.

They did find that they were more willing to help others in need as well.
Interestingly, this group also experienced a 20% decrease in “problematic drinking,” and a 53% decline in abuse of prescription painkillers.

Other UBI studies have shown similar positive results, but politicians have yet to moved to action.

There’s no telling what – if anything – might finally move the needle.

If you enjoyed that story, check out what happened when a guy gave ChatGPT $100 to make as money as possible, and it turned out exactly how you would expect.