https://futurism.com/homeless-750-basic-income
"The idea of giving homeless people money, no questions asked, is a perennially
controversial topic. The common argument against handing cash to the unhoused
is that they'll spend most of it on drugs, liquor, or cigarettes because of
addiction issues.
But a recently published study from California seems like compelling evidence
to the contrary. In 2022, a team of researchers from the University of Southern
California, working with the San Francisco-based nonprofit Miracle Messages,
studied the impact of giving $750 per month to 103 randomly selected homeless
people in the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles County for a year.
For the first six months of the study period, the homeless participants spent
most of their monthly stipend on food, at 36.6 percent of their total budget,
and then housing at 19.5 percent, transportation at 12.7 percent, clothing at
11.5 percent, and healthcare at 6.2 percent. And 13.6 percent of the monthly
income was classified as other expenses.
Researchers told
The Los Angeles Times that just 2 percent from the monthly
stipend went to drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. And most of that tiny slice
went to cigarettes — a minuscule proportion that may shatter some stereotypes
of the unhoused.
But the biggest takeaway from the study was not about how much money they spent
on addictive substances. It was that people who received the $750 were more
likely to get off the streets."
Via Muse, who wrote:
I spent some time with a UBI advocacy group in Melbourne. Given my
experiences with that group, I would say that we should have, and could
still, lean into is one of the other terms for a citizen’s dividend:
Guaranteed Living Income.
What we want is everyone experiencing the security of knowing that they will
always have enough–that they don’t have to beg or prove worthiness in order
to get appropriate assistance, and have the autonomy to choose for
themselves how best to grapple with their unique circumstances.
I would say we want a Universal GLI. So that no one can argue about how nice
it would be to get free money, and punish the poor for needing “hand outs”.
Everyone receives the same handouts. The government can just take the money
back by taxing anyone who has moved up a tax bracket with the inclusion of
their GLI payment. I might roll with Citizen’s Dividend, but I want those
words “Guaranteed” and “Living Income” happening just so everyone is clear
about how much must be given out and under what circumstances.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
