Joe Rogan and Shane Smith discuss the importance of universal basic income: "Crime will dip substantially"

Popular MMA personality Joe Rogan recently had journalist and media executive Shane Smith over in his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience. Smith co-founded VICE Media, formerly known as VICE Magazine, back in 1994. VICE focuses on lifestyle, arts, culture, and politics-related content, topics Smith has been known to explore in the most honest and investigative ways.

In his return to the Joe Rogan Experience, Smith talked about the importance of universal basic income and how it can change the world. Universal basic income or UBI is a concept of a government program that grants every adult citizen a set amount of money regularly to alleviate poverty.

Smith said:

"There's this big, chaotic time right now and you're exactly right and people are getting anxious about it and everything. And we got to use that as a time to say, 'Hey, why don't we have a f**king economy where there is a universal basic wage and/or living wage and we take that to doing sh*t where you do something that you like and you're happy about [it]."

To this, Rogan replied with:

"I guarantee you it will cause less crime. I think crime will dip substantially. I think there will be less civil unrest. People's needs will be met. It'll give everyone that feeling of, 'Oh, I don't have to worry about my bills anymore'".

Check out Joe Rogan and Shane Smith's conversation below (59:14):

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Shane Smith explains to Joe Rogan how VICE changing prompted him to step down as CEO

VICE as a media company, at least when Shane Smith started it as a magazine back in the 90s, was aimed to challenge the status quo of mainstream media and elevate independent, free-thinking journalism. VICE became one of the most-viewed news programs in the world, reaching new heights in viewership once it expanded to video content in 2011.

The media company went on a decline from 2018 to its filing of bankruptcy in 2023, however. Smith talked about this on the podcast, saying (via Joe Rogan Experience):

"I actually called in from the beginning. I said, 'Look, we're going to get too big and at that point, we're gonna become the thing that we're [going up against]. We were a challenger brand and we're gonna become the status quo and then we're gonna get our a**es kicked."

Check out Shane Smith's comments below (3:36)