3 ms·

If people aren't smart enough to know how to spend their money, perhaps we need to provide better financial education in school. I don't remember having an iota

If people aren't smart enough to know how to spend their money, perhaps we need to provide better financial education in school. I don't remember having an iota of financial education from K-12 -- it was all focused around math, history, literature and science. "How to live your life independently" may as well be a core subject, because the United States is becoming breeding ground for dependent people. It doesn't seem in the government's best interest to push for better financial education, because they profit off of dependency. It makes way more sense to have your constituents be financially educated than to "accept that they are dumb" and then just attempt to fix everything they mess up. The latter is unsustainable. UBI + better schooling should preclude the need for food programs, etc.

chrisseaton 8y ago
So why UBI then? People getting jobs should preclude the need for food programs, but it doesn’t in practice so you want UBI. UBI should preclude the need for food programs and it also won’t in practice. What’s changed? Why do you care that jobs don’t work for everyone, but don’t care that UBI won’t work for everyone? If you’re a ‘people should just be smarter’ person why do you want to help people using UBI in the first place?
- anonytrary 8y ago
  > Why do you care that jobs don’t work for everyone, but don’t care that UBI won’t work for everyone? Because jobs and UBI aren't the same thing. You aren't guaranteed a job out of high school or college, so you are more likely to have some sort of basis for your claim that you need support from everyone else. On the other hand, with UBI, if you're given exactly what you need to sustain your life and can't, then it's clearly a personal problem.
  - chrisseaton 8y ago
    > then it's clearly a personal problem Right - so we still need a food program for people who have personal problems that cause them to run out of money - like being innumerate, or having mental health issues, or a controlling abusive partner, or just being super crap with money no matter how hard they honestly try. You can say we’ll leave those people to starve to death, but that’s not going to get me to vote for UBI! You’ll probably more realistically say ‘ok well we’ll help that one mother just one time with the baby starving to death because she is addicted to gambling away her UBI’ but then bingo you’re now running a food program as well.
    - dragonwriter 8y ago
      > Right - so we still need a food program for people who have personal problems that cause them to run out of mone We don't have one now; it might be nice to have with UBI as it would be now, but why would it be any more necessary with UBI? Sure, if UBI is a more efficient means of solving the problems addressed by means-tested programs and unlocks economic potential forgone due to minimum wage, it might make the existing need for such a program something that we can afford to address, but it certainly doesn't create an unmet need that doesn't already exist. > You can say we’ll leave those people to starve to death, but that’s not going to get me to vote for UBI! But, that's exactly the status quo for people with too much income to qualify for food aid who don't spend it well. Why would losing that existing situation unchanged whole improving other areas be a reason to oppose UBI?
    - anonytrary 8y ago
      > Right - so we still need a food program for people who have personal problems that cause them to run out of money. Plenty of private charities can exist which you can donate to if you believe your money should be helping those people. A system where some people voluntarily donate has less inequity than a system where all people are forced to donate.

chrisseaton 8y ago

So why UBI then? People getting jobs should preclude the need for food programs, but it doesn’t in practice so you want UBI. UBI should preclude the need for food programs and it also won’t in practice. What’s changed? Why do you care that jobs don’t work for everyone, but don’t care that UBI won’t work for everyone? If you’re a ‘people should just be smarter’ person why do you want to help people using UBI in the first place?

anonytrary 8y ago
> Why do you care that jobs don’t work for everyone, but don’t care that UBI won’t work for everyone? Because jobs and UBI aren't the same thing. You aren't guaranteed a job out of high school or college, so you are more likely to have some sort of basis for your claim that you need support from everyone else. On the other hand, with UBI, if you're given exactly what you need to sustain your life and can't, then it's clearly a personal problem.
- chrisseaton 8y ago
  > then it's clearly a personal problem Right - so we still need a food program for people who have personal problems that cause them to run out of money - like being innumerate, or having mental health issues, or a controlling abusive partner, or just being super crap with money no matter how hard they honestly try. You can say we’ll leave those people to starve to death, but that’s not going to get me to vote for UBI! You’ll probably more realistically say ‘ok well we’ll help that one mother just one time with the baby starving to death because she is addicted to gambling away her UBI’ but then bingo you’re now running a food program as well.
  - dragonwriter 8y ago
    > Right - so we still need a food program for people who have personal problems that cause them to run out of mone We don't have one now; it might be nice to have with UBI as it would be now, but why would it be any more necessary with UBI? Sure, if UBI is a more efficient means of solving the problems addressed by means-tested programs and unlocks economic potential forgone due to minimum wage, it might make the existing need for such a program something that we can afford to address, but it certainly doesn't create an unmet need that doesn't already exist. > You can say we’ll leave those people to starve to death, but that’s not going to get me to vote for UBI! But, that's exactly the status quo for people with too much income to qualify for food aid who don't spend it well. Why would losing that existing situation unchanged whole improving other areas be a reason to oppose UBI?
  - anonytrary 8y ago
    > Right - so we still need a food program for people who have personal problems that cause them to run out of money. Plenty of private charities can exist which you can donate to if you believe your money should be helping those people. A system where some people voluntarily donate has less inequity than a system where all people are forced to donate.