3 ms·

Is there any evidence to suggest that cash assistance to poor families is wasted at anywhere near the rate you're describing? There are 53,809 NYCHA housing un

Is there any evidence to suggest that cash assistance to poor families is wasted at anywhere near the rate you're describing? There are 53,809 NYCHA housing units in Manhattan alone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Housing_Authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Housing_Authorit... Assuming an average market rent of $2,000 (a huge underestimate), and assuming dormitories could be provided in distant brooklyn/queens/bronx for $700 (an overestimate), that means we are wasting 70M/month on luxury goods for poor folks in one county alone. Are you really trying to claim that the cost of administration would exceed $1300/month per housing unit?

dikaiosune 11y ago
Across the entire nation, the cost of administration doesn't need to exceed 1300/mo to be a worse option than cash benefits. It just needs to be greater than whatever waste recipients generate in aggregate. Manhattan low-income housing: 53,809 units, per your above claims, from one of the most expensive places to live in the entire country. 46.7 million Americans were below the poverty line in 2014: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/ https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/ The vast majority of the US is quite a bit cheaper than NYC. Further, we don't need to provide cash assistance to match an area's rent -- thus achieving the same "ship out the poor people" policy you seem to espouse above. If someone can spend their $500 monthly benefit on Manhattan rent, or spend that same benefit on NJ rent, many will choose the latter and thus avoid the waste you claim is inevitable. And you've still cited no evidence which makes me think that the waste you're citing could exist on a national scale anywhere close to the administrative burden of an in-kind program.

3 ms·

Is there any evidence to suggest that cash assistance to poor families is wasted at anywhere near the rate you're describing? There are 53,809 NYCHA housing un

by yummyfajitas 11y ago

dikaiosune 11y ago
Across the entire nation, the cost of administration doesn't need to exceed 1300/mo to be a worse option than cash benefits. It just needs to be greater than whatever waste recipients generate in aggregate. Manhattan low-income housing: 53,809 units, per your above claims, from one of the most expensive places to live in the entire country. 46.7 million Americans were below the poverty line in 2014: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/ https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/ The vast majority of the US is quite a bit cheaper than NYC. Further, we don't need to provide cash assistance to match an area's rent -- thus achieving the same "ship out the poor people" policy you seem to espouse above. If someone can spend their $500 monthly benefit on Manhattan rent, or spend that same benefit on NJ rent, many will choose the latter and thus avoid the waste you claim is inevitable. And you've still cited no evidence which makes me think that the waste you're citing could exist on a national scale anywhere close to the administrative burden of an in-kind program.