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The US has near universal basic income for older folks. No, we don't -- because the amount you get depends on how much you've earned before you're eligible. A

The US has near universal basic income for older folks. No, we don't -- because the amount you get depends on how much you've earned before you're eligible. And because it isn't nearly enough to actually live on (and has stayed flat while living costs have skyrocketed). The whole point of basic income is that it's (1) unconditional and (2) pegged to actual, real basic living expenses.

nugget 11y ago
The woman in the article receives $1390/month in COLA'd fixed income and free ''major medical'' health care. I can tell you from personal experience: this is ''enough to actually live on''. It's not super comfortable but then we're talking about someone who worked for decades and ended up with a net worth of zero. I'm not assigning blame I'm just restating a fact. Where my family is from in the midwest a studio apartment is $300/month in a safe enough area, and there are plenty of very low cost community resources and activities. Obviously not a highly desirable area but people survive there with a roof over their heads, food on the table, and a community to spend time with. Back to the woman in the article: to me it seems that her real problem isn't poverty but rather clinging to her RV and her wanderlust lifestyle. Which of course she's entitled to do, but we shouldn't look at it as an example of the system failing when it's actually the opposite.
- bishnu 11y ago
  She's over $50 000 in debt. You can't just discount that from this type of analysis.
  - nugget 11y ago
    Assuming it's consumer credit (and not student loans) then she's a prime candidate for bankruptcy which would wipe out all her loans. She burns her credit score but it's an easy (probably necessary) trade-off to make. She just needs to move somewhere where her monthly expenses are less than her monthly fixed income, and she will be fine (from a financial perspective).

nugget 11y ago

The woman in the article receives $1390/month in COLA'd fixed income and free ''major medical'' health care. I can tell you from personal experience: this is ''enough to actually live on''. It's not super comfortable but then we're talking about someone who worked for decades and ended up with a net worth of zero. I'm not assigning blame I'm just restating a fact. Where my family is from in the midwest a studio apartment is $300/month in a safe enough area, and there are plenty of very low cost community resources and activities. Obviously not a highly desirable area but people survive there with a roof over their heads, food on the table, and a community to spend time with. Back to the woman in the article: to me it seems that her real problem isn't poverty but rather clinging to her RV and her wanderlust lifestyle. Which of course she's entitled to do, but we shouldn't look at it as an example of the system failing when it's actually the opposite.

bishnu 11y ago
She's over $50 000 in debt. You can't just discount that from this type of analysis.
- nugget 11y ago
  Assuming it's consumer credit (and not student loans) then she's a prime candidate for bankruptcy which would wipe out all her loans. She burns her credit score but it's an easy (probably necessary) trade-off to make. She just needs to move somewhere where her monthly expenses are less than her monthly fixed income, and she will be fine (from a financial perspective).