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Hi, I’m someone who happened to both grow up on welfare AND watch zero people close to me work any sort of job ever. Your comment reads to me as an implicit ar
by thex10 9y ago
Hi, I’m someone who happened to both grow up on welfare AND watch zero people close to me work any sort of job ever.
Your comment reads to me as an implicit argument against UBI. Is that your case?
Allow to me comment from an insider perspective.
- The welfare money didn’t cause the lack of work. They were not strongly related or if anything it’s the lack of work that drives the need to take up welfare.
- It’s likely an extremely small minority of children in welfare-assisted families who see zero closely related adults working at all.
- People who grow up without working role models do have a harder time learning the ropes on the work life, on that we agree. That doesn’t mean they’re doomed to fail completely. (Saying this as someone who had no idea how to do this right but eventually learned, went through grad school, now works in tech, outearns the median income in her city, etc). Also how do you explain the many underemployed/unemployed/deadbeat kids of successful high-status parents? The connection seems rather spurious to me.
- Taking away the welfare money would do nothing to get someone employed. Instead it might endanger the family’s life. You realize that right?
- maxxxxx 9y agoI am not arguing against welfare or UBI. I am just saying the long-term effect may be different from what people are thinking. Especially at HN people seem to think all people on UBI will turn into artists or develop software all day. Maybe that will be the case but I have my doubts. "People who grow up without working role models do have a harder time learning the ropes on the work life, on that we agree. That doesn’t mean they’re doomed to fail completely. " People certainly can escape their upbringing but from my observation on average most people stay close to their social class. That doesn't mean that some won't do much better or much worse than their family.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- clarky07 9y agoThe basic problem with welfare as it currently exists, is that it actually provides disincentives to working. If you start working they take away similar amounts of welfare. You'd have to get a job that is way more than the welfare for it to make even a little sense. That disincentive goes away with UBI, which is the main reason I think it would work better. Under that system, every dollar you earn directly translates to a better standard of living.