Social Income
March 2024: Memes, Scrabble and Automation #835
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Memes, Scrabble and Automation
written by Aurélie
Donor credits
While the world often praises Western donors for their generosity, the truth is that the real heroes of giving are the migrants from the Global South. They contribute $590 billion annually in remittances back to their families and communities. That's more than all the official development assistance, cross-border philanthropy, and private capital combined. We should rewrite the narrative, ditch the "donor dependency" myth, and give credit where it's due.
New transparent finance approach
We believe transparency is key when building trust with our donors. We're therefore adopting a transparent approach to donations. Going forward, we will reveal all costs related to direct cash payments for poverty alleviation. Social Income previously required separate funding to cover costs related to direct cash payments (e. g. delivery fees), but from now on all donations will also cover these costs and allow sustainable payments to recipients. The new approach allows both new and current contributors to make informed decisions about our efficiency, ensuring our model remains sustainable and scalable for our ambitious future plans—and we’ve got big plans.
What do you meme?
Scott Santens is a regular source for my newsletter. This week, he shared one of his most amusing memes to date. You are probably familiar with the iconic capitalist original that this scene parodies. Scott adeptly illustrates the mental relief that a universal basic income can offer to its recipients.
Scrabble for the win
Until recently, I assumed that Scrabble is a game that only my grandmother likes to play, but as it turns out the game is a discipline at the 13th African Games in Ghana. Why am I telling you all this? Because the head of the Sierra Leonean team, Emmanuel King Esq. won the gold medal.
My World in Data
Stat of the month
What's the deal with these numbers, you ask? They paint a picture of Sierra Leone's biodiversity: at least 99 fish species call its marine waters home, not to mention over 140 types of mammals, 30 amphibians, and 65 reptiles. But the catch is that despite these impressive numbers, Sierra Leone's wildlife is taking a hit, just like elsewhere in the world. Climate change, deforestation and illegal fishing are causing populations to dwindle, posing a serious threat to its natural wonders.
Huge gap
The income disparity between sub-Saharan African countries and industrialized countries has widened alarmingly, and now stands at a staggering 40 to 50 times difference. This gap stems from a variety of complex factors, including pervasive corruption, the continent's geographical disadvantages, and the notable brain drain as talent migrates in search of better opportunities abroad.
Developer world
There are 284 million open source projects on GitHub. Social Income is 1 of 7 selected initiatives in the GitHub Social Impact program called Activating Developers. Wondering where all the developers live on this planet or what are the top programming languages? You can find insight here. And on May 17, our colleague Verena will be coding live on GitHub’s Twitch channel while talking about Social Income.
Automation
I come across the idea quite often that automation is supposed to be this time-saving marvel, allowing extra time for our social lives and just being an all-around good thing. But recent research has found that automation has played a central role in widening social disparity. Researchers found that half or more of the increasing gap in wages among American workers is attributable to the automation of tasks.
My World in News
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