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>One argument against such programs is that they could allow people to have a lifestyle where they choose to never work, yet live a comfortable life and have lo

by lsc 9y ago

>One argument against such programs is that they could allow people to have a lifestyle where they choose to never work, yet live a comfortable life and have lots of children. It seems like this could cause extreme population growth, but in a very bad way. Am I missing something, or is there a solution to address that problem? So, I'm talking largely about rich nations like the USA. Here? it has been a long time since the population was restricted by food, so we can neatly sidestep that problem without resorting to Swift. I do think it's important to design welfare programs to aid people who are leaving poverty. I personally don't think this should be done by cutting off the support if they don't work... But I do think programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit which help smooth the transition from being dependent on welfare to supporting yourself are super important... (And I think the Earned Income Tax Credit is generally considered a good model of this; the idea is that instead of cutting out benefits as soon as a person gets a job, the government continues to supplement the income until they are doing well. a basic income that everyone gets addresses a similar problem, and a basic income + a strongly progressive income tax could probably do something similar.

greenleafjacob 9y ago
In 2016, 4.9 percent of U.S. households (6.1 million households) had very low food security, essentially unchanged from 5.0 percent in 2015. In this more severe range of food insecurity, the food intake of some household members was reduced and normal eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year due to limited resources. [1] [1] https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/84973/err-237.pdf?v=42979 https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/84973/err-237....
robotbikes 9y ago
Our current social welfare programs actively discourage people from saving money to get out of poverty. If you have more than 2,000$ in your bank account you are disqualified from reviving EBT in many states. So people either have to save and hide or lie about their money or get cut off the second their able to build their own safety net. Predatory lending and an inability to plan beyond their immediate survival also incentives what could be considered bad financial decisions. While start ups might in theory help buffer some of the negatives what objectively is needed is opportunities and examples of alternative means of livelihoods. People don't generally sit around and have babies because they don't have anything better to do, although I'm sure sex out of boredom does result in some unplanned pregnancies.
- deleted 9y ago
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by lsc 9y ago

greenleafjacob 9y ago

In 2016, 4.9 percent of U.S. households (6.1 million households) had very low food security, essentially unchanged from 5.0 percent in 2015. In this more severe range of food insecurity, the food intake of some household members was reduced and normal eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year due to limited resources. [1] [1] https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/84973/err-237.pdf?v=42979 https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/84973/err-237....

robotbikes 9y ago

Our current social welfare programs actively discourage people from saving money to get out of poverty. If you have more than 2,000$ in your bank account you are disqualified from reviving EBT in many states. So people either have to save and hide or lie about their money or get cut off the second their able to build their own safety net. Predatory lending and an inability to plan beyond their immediate survival also incentives what could be considered bad financial decisions. While start ups might in theory help buffer some of the negatives what objectively is needed is opportunities and examples of alternative means of livelihoods. People don't generally sit around and have babies because they don't have anything better to do, although I'm sure sex out of boredom does result in some unplanned pregnancies.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]