About Our Work
Basic Income
About BasicallyIncome.org
Building political power for a universal cash floor
Basically Income PAC exists to win basic income in the United States. We are dedicated to making the government send you money.
We support a universal, unconditional cash floor for every U.S. citizen: recurring income paid to individuals, not households, with no work requirement, no stigma, and no bureaucracy designed to make people fail.
Our work is political, practical, and urgent: make basic income normal, make it electorally winnable, and help elect leaders prepared to pass it.
Our mission
Win federal basic income by building the public will, candidate support, and governing seriousness required to make it law.
We do that through public education, political advocacy, candidate accountability, coalition-building, and direct support for leaders who are willing to fight for a reliable economic floor. Basic income is not a slogan. It is economic infrastructure. It gives people enough stability to work, care for family, train for better opportunities, start businesses, leave unsafe situations, and survive ordinary emergencies without collapse.
What we mean by basic income
A serious basic income policy must be:
- Universal - every U.S. citizen receives it.
- Unconditional - no work requirement, behavioral policing, or “prove you deserve help” bureaucracy.
- Individual - paid to people, not households, so it follows the person.
- Recurring and reliable - predictable enough to plan around.
- Simple to access - designed to minimize friction, errors, stigma, and administrative waste.
- Dignity-first - cash respects choice because people know what they need.
We oppose policies that use the language of basic income while preserving the traps that basic income is meant to solve: means-testing, benefit cliffs, work requirements, lottery-style pilots, one-time checks, or proposals that trade privacy and dignity for survival.
Why this matters now
Millions of Americans are doing what they were told to do and still living one emergency away from financial collapse. Rent spikes, medical bills, layoffs, caregiving responsibilities, unstable hours, and rising costs have turned ordinary life into a permanent stress test.
The problem is not that people are lazy. The problem is that the economy has become too volatile, too unequal, and too unforgiving for wages alone to provide reliable security.
Basic income gives every citizen a foundation beneath the labor market. It strengthens bargaining power, supports caregiving, stabilizes local economies, and gives families the breathing room to make better long-term choices.
A country this wealthy should not require its people to live one accident, one bill, or one missed paycheck away from disaster.
What we do:
Public education We translate basic income research, policy design, and economic arguments into clear public language. Supporters should be able to explain the policy in one sentence and defend it in a serious conversation.
Political advocacy We push elected officials, candidates, donors, and party leaders to treat basic income as a real governing priority, not a novelty issue or a temporary campaign talking point.
Candidate support and accountability We support candidates who are willing to make a public case for basic income and who understand that economic security is central to democracy, freedom, family stability, and national resilience.
Grassroots mobilization We build simple, repeatable actions supporters can take quickly: share explainers, attend events, contact decision-makers, volunteer for endorsed candidates, and bring more people into the coalition.
Coalition-building Basic income can unite workers, caregivers, veterans, entrepreneurs, students, parents, retirees, disabled people, rural communities, urban communities, and anyone who understands that economic freedom requires a reliable floor.
How we evaluate candidates and campaigns
Basically Income PAC looks for leaders who can help turn basic income from an idea into policy.
We prioritize candidates and campaigns that demonstrate:
- A clear public commitment to universal basic income or a universal cash floor.
- A willingness to explain basic income in practical, voter-centered language.
- Seriousness about implementation, funding, delivery, and interaction with existing supports.
- Alignment with dignity, freedom, democratic accountability, and economic security.
- Capacity to organize, persuade, and win.
- Commitment to transparency and public accountability.
What success looks like
Our goal is not merely to “raise awareness.” Our goal is to build a durable political vehicle for basic income.
Success means:
- More candidates publicly supporting basic income.
- More voters understanding basic income as a practical economic floor.
- More donors investing in basic income as a serious political project.
- More public pressure on elected officials to support federal legislation.
- A stronger coalition capable of moving from education to implementation.
Basic income becomes law when it becomes normal, popular, funded, and politically costly to ignore.
What makes us different
We are universal on purpose Universality is not a branding choice. It is what makes basic income simple, fair, durable, and politically defensible. Universal programs reduce stigma, avoid benefit cliffs, and build a broader constituency for long-term protection.
We are practical about power Good ideas do not become law because they are morally correct. They become law when enough people, institutions, donors, organizers, candidates, and elected officials decide to make them unavoidable.
We speak to real life Basic income is about whether people have enough stability to make decisions freely. It is about family, work, caregiving, entrepreneurship, health, safety, and time.
We measure the work As we grow, we will publish clearer benchmarks for endorsements, campaign priorities, public education goals, spending priorities, and required public filings.
Join us
If you believe every U.S. citizen deserves a baseline of economic security:
- Follow us on Bluesky and share our explainers
- Subscribe for updates
- Volunteer (digital actions, outreach, organizing)
- Donate to help us scale
BasicallyIncome.org is where we build the coalition that makes basic income inevitable.
Contact
contact@BasicallyIncome.org
Contributions are not tax deductible. Federal law requires us to use best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation, and employer of individuals whose contributions exceed applicable thresholds.
Our Team
Sheridan Lund
CEO & Founder
Sheridan Lund leads Basically Income PAC’s political strategy, candidate engagement, and organizational growth. He brings practical campaign experience from local and state politics and understands how public pressure, campaign infrastructure, and policy advocacy have to work together to change what elected officials consider possible.
Sheridan’s work is focused on building a disciplined, credible political home for basic income supporters and turning public agreement into measurable political power.
Shael Riley
Co-Founder
Shael Riley helps lead Basically Income PAC’s communications, operations, public messaging, and donor outreach. He focuses on translating complex policy arguments into clear, persuasive language that supporters, candidates, and voters can actually use.
Shael’s work is grounded in the belief that basic income will win when the movement combines moral clarity, practical policy design, and sustained political execution.