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Honest question. What kind of life does that give you? A decent enough life or a pretty miserable life? Also, if this is true why are there so many more homele

Honest question. What kind of life does that give you? A decent enough life or a pretty miserable life? Also, if this is true why are there so many more homeless people in the US than any other Western country I've been to?

jamesaguilar 13y ago
It doesn't give you a very good life. That said, there is still a question of when we should begin heavily subsidizing non-work. I think there's a decent argument to be made that we're not at that point yet. Also, homelessness in the US is barely related to the question of subsidizing non-work. It's more of a failure on the part of our mental health system. If you talk to a homeless guy in the US, odds are he'll have some pretty noticeable mental issue right from the get-go.
Daniel_Newby 13y ago
It gives you a life of luxury barely imaginable to the average person in Bangladesh. The US is strongly anti-authoritarian. Rounding up the crazies and putting them in a managed home simply is not done. It would infringe the civil rights of burned out alcoholics, schizophrenics, etc.
bradleyjg 13y ago
SSI (disabled from birth) is $600 a month. SSDI (disabled after working for some time, generally 10 years) is $900-$3000 a month. Food stamps top out at $200 for an individual and a little more than $600 for a family of four. Section 8 (housing subsidies) is based on a complicated formula but in NYC can amount to a $1800 subsidy for a family of four. People on SSI + Food Stamps + Section 8 + Medicaid certainly aren't living the lifestyles of the rich and famous, but their effective income at PPP is comparable the median household income in a country like Czech Republic or Portugal.
dwiel 13y ago
At least in Indiana where I love, these aren't guaranteed. Food stamps only last for a year or two and then you're done, even if you are still in a bad situation. Subsidized housing is a lottery with something like 1:4 odds. Even if you are lucky enough to get these things, you aren't in a stable position, because they can be taken away from you. I also think the comments here about how its luxury compared to a 3rd world are true, but also note that it is more expensive to live here, and there are very few fallback options if the government programs don't work out. The homeless in my town don't have a shelter they can legally sleep at, and with all of the regulations we have in place, a minimally legal structure still has a pretty high cost.
prostoalex 13y ago
We're discussing basic income, so the point is more the survival and freeing up time to do anything one ever wanted outside of work. Depression is a valid point though, something that's frequently omitted in such discussions, which center on the fact that if only you provided people with ATM cards, things would be nice and clean and drug-free.

jamesaguilar 13y ago

It doesn't give you a very good life. That said, there is still a question of when we should begin heavily subsidizing non-work. I think there's a decent argument to be made that we're not at that point yet. Also, homelessness in the US is barely related to the question of subsidizing non-work. It's more of a failure on the part of our mental health system. If you talk to a homeless guy in the US, odds are he'll have some pretty noticeable mental issue right from the get-go.

Daniel_Newby 13y ago

It gives you a life of luxury barely imaginable to the average person in Bangladesh. The US is strongly anti-authoritarian. Rounding up the crazies and putting them in a managed home simply is not done. It would infringe the civil rights of burned out alcoholics, schizophrenics, etc.

bradleyjg 13y ago

SSI (disabled from birth) is $600 a month. SSDI (disabled after working for some time, generally 10 years) is $900-$3000 a month. Food stamps top out at $200 for an individual and a little more than $600 for a family of four. Section 8 (housing subsidies) is based on a complicated formula but in NYC can amount to a $1800 subsidy for a family of four. People on SSI + Food Stamps + Section 8 + Medicaid certainly aren't living the lifestyles of the rich and famous, but their effective income at PPP is comparable the median household income in a country like Czech Republic or Portugal.

dwiel 13y ago

At least in Indiana where I love, these aren't guaranteed. Food stamps only last for a year or two and then you're done, even if you are still in a bad situation. Subsidized housing is a lottery with something like 1:4 odds. Even if you are lucky enough to get these things, you aren't in a stable position, because they can be taken away from you. I also think the comments here about how its luxury compared to a 3rd world are true, but also note that it is more expensive to live here, and there are very few fallback options if the government programs don't work out. The homeless in my town don't have a shelter they can legally sleep at, and with all of the regulations we have in place, a minimally legal structure still has a pretty high cost.

prostoalex 13y ago

We're discussing basic income, so the point is more the survival and freeing up time to do anything one ever wanted outside of work. Depression is a valid point though, something that's frequently omitted in such discussions, which center on the fact that if only you provided people with ATM cards, things would be nice and clean and drug-free.