A federal UBI would solve this problem. If we all know with absolute certainty how much money every one of us has access to we would no longer be vulnerable to claims of helplessness by people with signs asking for help. If I know the panhandler on the street corner is getting $1000/month and there are apartments for rent in El Paso texas for $250/mo I won't be as likely to say "They don't have any other options but to ask for handouts at this corner" Because once a UBI is in place we know they have other options.
I would argue that funding and properly funding the federal housing and urban development department would solve this issue. We act like homelessness is inevitable but it's not. In fact, in many other countries it's very unusual to see homelessness. We have an entire department set up to manage and provide low income housing. We just don't fund it. In fact, we actively underfunded. We certainly don't do very well in building new units. We allow crime and landlord abuse and unsafe housing conditions to flourish in low income in subsidized housing. Then we bitch and moan about how homelessness increases crime and how violence keeps going...
A lot of people don't know that when housing projects were first built, they were actually really nice and desirable. They were communities. But when you have decades of no upkeep, unsafe conditions (lead contamination, broken elevators, no lights or security measures in vulnerable places, vermin and insects, landlords who repeatedly violate code) - is it any wonder that these places have deteriorated and created more crises?
And we pretty much treat most crucial government departments in this way on both a state and federal level. Foster care is underfunded, criminal defense is underfunded, housing is underfunded, pollution control is underfunded, enforcement of housing codes is underfunded, welfare and food stamps and workers comp, mental health, public health... It just goes on and on.
With no safety net, no wonder people fall through so often
All of this is too convoluted. Just give people money and let them spend it as they wish. If someone wants to live in their parents basement they should still get the same benefits as everyone else. We have too many intellectuals who believe they should decide what other people need or want. You and I have no idea what some random person needs or wants. Just give people money. If they blow it then so be it. We can't save every human being on earth from making poor decisions and the more we try the more we interfere with general human flourishing and prosperity.
A better plan would be housing and food vouchers given to everyone. You would end up with higher taxes but the voucher would cover it until you make a high enough amount. Basically the more you make the less "free" money you get when you factor in taxes. All the issues people point out as flaws of these plans can be addressed, we just have to actually think about them rather than reject the idea before it can be adjusted. The issue is nobody wants to put in the work to think critically about anything. They just repeat stuff they heard elsewhere.
So if an adult lives with their parents and grows their own food they don't get any benefits? This is the problem. Not everyone needs the same things. If we give everyone cash it ensures that people are treated fairly.
Cash can be spent on things that are not basic essentials (housing food etc...). Part of the system could be cash payments, but ideally you are trying to avoid situations where people can blow all their money on drugs or whatever and be in the same position. The key part is having a real discussion about the concerns and addressing them rather than throwing the whole idea out.
Landlords would just gobble up any UBI. Everyone has an extra 1000 bucks/month in their pocket? Badaboom rent goes up 900 dollars.
The issues are structural. I'm not against UBI, depending on how it's funded (ie whether its truly redistributive), but just injecting more money into the system doesn't change how it functions.
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u/warrenfgerald Aug 04 '22
A federal UBI would solve this problem. If we all know with absolute certainty how much money every one of us has access to we would no longer be vulnerable to claims of helplessness by people with signs asking for help. If I know the panhandler on the street corner is getting $1000/month and there are apartments for rent in El Paso texas for $250/mo I won't be as likely to say "They don't have any other options but to ask for handouts at this corner" Because once a UBI is in place we know they have other options.