Section 11
Draft constitutional amendment
Discussion text — six sections, every word up for debate.
?New here? What LifeSystems is, in 30 seconds
LifeSystems is a proposal for how society could work once AI and robots do about 99% of the jobs, leaving most people without employment through no fault of their own.
- A basic income for everyone. Every eligible adult gets a tax-free monthly payment (UBI), job or no job. You can turn it off and back on whenever you like.
- Living packages from co-ops. Worker-owned cooperatives compete to offer affordable bundles of housing, food, healthcare and more, paid for with that income.
- Freedom stays. You can keep your home, run a business, earn more, or skip the whole system. It's a floor, not a ceiling.
- Funded by land. Mainly through a tax on land value, the one resource machines can't make more of.
Tip: words with a dotted underline have a plain-language explanation. Click one, or browse the glossary.
Your turn
Read it like a lawyer, then like a skeptic. Which words do too much work, and which do too little?
Section 1 — Economic security
Every shall possess a right to a sufficient, together with accessible essential services, to secure an , as implemented by law.
§11.1Section 2 — Universality and taxation
shall not be conditioned upon employment, earnings, or personal wealth, and no tax shall be imposed upon dividend payments.
§11.2Section 3 — Voluntary participation
An eligible person may decline receipt of and may resume receipt at any time without penalty, waiting period, or . Declined payments shall not accrue retroactively.
§11.3Section 4 — Freedom of choice
No person shall be compelled to subscribe to a particular , surrender a lawfully owned home, or cease independent economic activity as a condition of eligibility.
§11.4Section 5 — Administration and protection
Congress shall provide by law for reliable, transparent funding and distribution. No executive officer may unilaterally divert or withhold payments authorized under this article.
§11.5Section 6 — Enforcement
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation, including effective judicial remedies for unlawful denial of benefits.
§11.6Drafting note
Constitutional counsel should reconcile “” with citizenship and residency rules, federalism, appropriations, enforcement, and the definition of an adequate benefit. This is conceptual language, not legal advice.
Current proposed answer
No answer yet- Eligibility can't depend on employment, earnings, or wealth (§11.2), so “” has to be defined some other way, most likely by citizenship, residency, and age.
Still missing: There's no proposed definition yet of “eligible adult” or of an “adequate” benefit.
§11.7