Reply to WAMU article about helping the city's poorest

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think it's a good idea. My hometown just got a private grant to try out a universal basic income. No one really knows how it'll play out but clearly things aren't getting better so why not try it?[/quote]

I have worked with "the city's poorest" and [b]I'm OK with conditional direct payments[/b]: they should be tied to a work/study or counseling requirement and financial literacy classes. All handouts in DC including 8 new homeless shelters, subsidized housing etc. should be. They're paid for by the $ of people who work after all. And if the city really has tax surplus, better yet-- invest in HIGH QUALITY daycare, then offer it subsidized and require parents who use it to work, study or get counseling. If your children are taken care of, you CAN work. And if there is no work, the city should create jobs like cleaning and snow shoveling (to be clear, my grandma was a janitor. It's honest work). To get out of the cycle of poverty, these parents need to set an example of responsibility. Period. If the city simply doles out cash without that expectation, not only will things not change--they'll probably worsen.[/quote]

+1
With the caveat that some people really aren't able to work due to age or disability, and work/study requirements shouldn't be disqualifiying for them.  But payments conditional on your kids attending school, or you taking classes, or working?  Fine with me.  And I totally agree that the city should use the money to create jobs.  Even part-time jobs would help.  Most people want to have a job--it's a source not just of income but of self-respect.  But there have to be jobs they can do and safe and reliable child care for those who need it.

And lots of people have proposed UBI; seems like it's worth a few places trying it to see how it actually works in practice.  [/quote]

We already have UBI and shoukd formalizeut with a name change and requirement that people do something to continue to receive it. [/quote]

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