What if someone inherited a place to live, but has no money? If someone has wealth I'd generally expect them to consume that wealth before receiving wealth tra

What if someone inherited a place to live, but has no money? If someone has wealth I'd generally expect them to consume that wealth before receiving wealth transfers. But more generally, if people have some of their needs being met but not all, then they can consume only some of the available in-kind benefits. E.g., a wealthy person with no income (like you described above) might provide their own housing but get their food from the government cafeteria. Premise 2 is both debunked in the US. Google the consumer expenditure survey and witness poor folks spending money on short term pleasures. Your premise 2 also conflicts with the article: Even if bad behavior does make poverty worse, it’s also the case that poverty causes bad behavior in the first place. Now you can try to improve the choices that poor folks make. But you can also just eliminate the bad choices and directly manage their lives until they develop the ability to manage their own life.