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While I wish my own Patreon were better funded and the issues in this space are real, this isn't going to be entirely solved by working only on the income end o

While I wish my own Patreon were better funded and the issues in this space are real, this isn't going to be entirely solved by working only on the income end of things. The US needs to reform its housing policies and find a better solution for providing healthcare for all citizens. If it were easier to find a small place to rent for less than $500 per month in the US, if it were easier to live without a car and if the average American weren't being bled for healthcare coverage, then you could live on $10k or so a year without it being a hardship. (Assuming single childless person, basically.) Some people already pull off stuff like that, but it needs to be more widespread. We need to make "the basics" somehow more accessible for more people. The problem isn't "Only a relatively small percentage of people make good money this way and those folks tend to get rich." The problem is that a high percentage of Americans are finding no means to really make ends meet due to a variety of factors that interplay in an ugly way. It's reasonable to say "It's not really the fault of this one thing." But something needs to give.

ytNumbers 6y ago
An example of this is the movie "Pursuit of Happiness". Having family/friends to lean on can help in many cases. However, many people are simply too overwhelmed by life to work on improving their situation or even trying something like... https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/
- DoreenMichele 6y ago
  One of the issues is that our broken policies are helping to fuel high rates of homelessness. Once you are homeless, you now have a lot of logistical barriers to accomplishing anything, plus social stigma piled on top of that and other issues (like hygiene issues that tend to make health issues worse and harder to resolve in most cases). There is all kinds of data showing it is cheaper literally give people housing than to let them be homeless. I'm not even asking the US to outright give poor folks housing. Just make it possible to find housing that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and where you can make your life work without a car. I don't think I'm asking all that much, to be honest. This shouldn't be that hard. It's not like we need to invent these concepts from scratch. There are lots of examples to draw from for how to make such policies (plus healthcare) work better than what we've got.
  - ytNumbers 6y ago
    Vastly increasing the housing stock by massively building upwards would knock down big city housing costs, but those who currently own real estate will fight that and vote out anyone promoting such a solution. NIMBY. It's a shame, but it is democracy in action. The people who would benefit from lower rental costs need to get out and vote in politicians who will solve the "rent is too damn high!" problem.
    - DoreenMichele 6y ago
      It's more complicated than that, which is kind of a good thing. There are other avenues that have some hope of working.
unity1001 6y ago
Indeed. Addressing systemic inequality is the key to solution of all these problems. Creator economy, new forms of working etc cannot solve this by itself. As long as basic commodities required for survival are made subject of profit maximization, this undesirable situation happens.

ytNumbers 6y ago

An example of this is the movie "Pursuit of Happiness". Having family/friends to lean on can help in many cases. However, many people are simply too overwhelmed by life to work on improving their situation or even trying something like... https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/

DoreenMichele 6y ago
One of the issues is that our broken policies are helping to fuel high rates of homelessness. Once you are homeless, you now have a lot of logistical barriers to accomplishing anything, plus social stigma piled on top of that and other issues (like hygiene issues that tend to make health issues worse and harder to resolve in most cases). There is all kinds of data showing it is cheaper literally give people housing than to let them be homeless. I'm not even asking the US to outright give poor folks housing. Just make it possible to find housing that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and where you can make your life work without a car. I don't think I'm asking all that much, to be honest. This shouldn't be that hard. It's not like we need to invent these concepts from scratch. There are lots of examples to draw from for how to make such policies (plus healthcare) work better than what we've got.
- ytNumbers 6y ago
  Vastly increasing the housing stock by massively building upwards would knock down big city housing costs, but those who currently own real estate will fight that and vote out anyone promoting such a solution. NIMBY. It's a shame, but it is democracy in action. The people who would benefit from lower rental costs need to get out and vote in politicians who will solve the "rent is too damn high!" problem.
  - DoreenMichele 6y ago
    It's more complicated than that, which is kind of a good thing. There are other avenues that have some hope of working.

unity1001 6y ago

Indeed. Addressing systemic inequality is the key to solution of all these problems. Creator economy, new forms of working etc cannot solve this by itself. As long as basic commodities required for survival are made subject of profit maximization, this undesirable situation happens.