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LA County's guaranteed income program to give some foster youth $1k per month

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11–20 of 97 posts

Re: LA County's guaranteed income program to give some foster youth $1k per month

#11
post #5

As a programmer from a bad family, group home, foster family background myself. $1k per month without working or struggle would have destroyed me. Imagine all the weed and whiskey I could have bought for that? (Which is what I would have done) Instead of working I would have been lazy. Homelessness and hunger was my major motivator and made me work in fast food while dreaming of computers. The lack of struggle would…

Oh please, this is just repackaged "Don't give poor people money, they'll just spend it on drugs" drivel.

Even if you're telling the truth, you're advocating a state where people suffer because you personally couldn't handle a tiny bit of welfare.

Re: LA County's guaranteed income program to give some foster youth $1k per month

#12
post #5

As a programmer from a bad family, group home, foster family background myself. $1k per month without working or struggle would have destroyed me. Imagine all the weed and whiskey I could have bought for that? (Which is what I would have done) Instead of working I would have been lazy. Homelessness and hunger was my major motivator and made me work in fast food while dreaming of computers. The lack of struggle would…

25% of foster kids end up homeless after aging out of the system. Direct cash transfer value is mostly proven from a social work/benefit perspective. Sure, coaching and counseling through social services must also be provided to help underprivileged humans take care of themselves and reach their full potential, but cash benefits help, full stop. The moral hazard argument needs to die. There is a difference between st…

Proven? At what scale?

Re: LA County's guaranteed income program to give some foster youth $1k per month

#14
post #5

As a programmer from a bad family, group home, foster family background myself. $1k per month without working or struggle would have destroyed me. Imagine all the weed and whiskey I could have bought for that? (Which is what I would have done) Instead of working I would have been lazy. Homelessness and hunger was my major motivator and made me work in fast food while dreaming of computers. The lack of struggle would…

25% of foster kids end up homeless after aging out of the system. Direct cash transfer value is mostly proven from a social work/benefit perspective. Sure, coaching and counseling through social services must also be provided to help underprivileged humans take care of themselves and reach their full potential, but cash benefits help, full stop. The moral hazard argument needs to die. There is a difference between st…

The responses that completely ignore addiction and mental health need to die.

Can you address what the parent described about mental health and addiction?

Would you rather invest $10k into someone who has shown you they're reliable, or someone who has shown you they are unreliable?

Please answer both questions.

Re: LA County's guaranteed income program to give some foster youth $1k per month

#15
post #5

As a programmer from a bad family, group home, foster family background myself. $1k per month without working or struggle would have destroyed me. Imagine all the weed and whiskey I could have bought for that? (Which is what I would have done) Instead of working I would have been lazy. Homelessness and hunger was my major motivator and made me work in fast food while dreaming of computers. The lack of struggle would…

25% of foster kids end up homeless after aging out of the system. Direct cash transfer value is mostly proven from a social work/benefit perspective. Sure, coaching and counseling through social services must also be provided to help underprivileged humans take care of themselves and reach their full potential, but cash benefits help, full stop. The moral hazard argument needs to die. There is a difference between st…

> Direct cash transfer value is mostly proven from a social work/benefit perspective.

There is basically nothing in social sciences that are a consistently reproducible fact. “Mostly proven” is Orwellian double speak akin to “the science is settled”

Re: LA County's guaranteed income program to give some foster youth $1k per month

#16

If it's means tested, what about this is guaranteed income? This just sounds like welfare

“guaranteed income” or “guaranteed minimum income” is not “unconditional basic income”; the former is often a name for a means-tested program tha provides an income floor, but not necessarily a boost beyond that floor.

OTOH, nothing in the article or the linked article I checked suggests this is means tested, its background tested (currebt foster youth originally, former foster youth for the new expansion), self-selected (application required), and randomly selected from the eligible applicants.

Re: LA County's guaranteed income program to give some foster youth $1k per month

#17
post #13

If it's means tested, what about this is guaranteed income? This just sounds like welfare

It's a UBI that interfaces with our current system and limited budgets.

I thought the U in UBI stands for Universal?

Re: LA County's guaranteed income program to give some foster youth $1k per month

#18
post #5

As a programmer from a bad family, group home, foster family background myself. $1k per month without working or struggle would have destroyed me. Imagine all the weed and whiskey I could have bought for that? (Which is what I would have done) Instead of working I would have been lazy. Homelessness and hunger was my major motivator and made me work in fast food while dreaming of computers. The lack of struggle would…

25% of foster kids end up homeless after aging out of the system. Direct cash transfer value is mostly proven from a social work/benefit perspective. Sure, coaching and counseling through social services must also be provided to help underprivileged humans take care of themselves and reach their full potential, but cash benefits help, full stop. The moral hazard argument needs to die. There is a difference between st…

it is a way to help individuals while harming society as a whole.

Re: LA County's guaranteed income program to give some foster youth $1k per month

#20
post #11
post #5

As a programmer from a bad family, group home, foster family background myself. $1k per month without working or struggle would have destroyed me. Imagine all the weed and whiskey I could have bought for that? (Which is what I would have done) Instead of working I would have been lazy. Homelessness and hunger was my major motivator and made me work in fast food while dreaming of computers. The lack of struggle would…

Oh please, this is just repackaged "Don't give poor people money, they'll just spend it on drugs" drivel. Even if you're telling the truth, you're advocating a state where people suffer because you personally couldn't handle a tiny bit of welfare.

> because you personally couldn't handle a tiny bit of welfare.

If there was a segment of the population who "couldn't handle" welfare, where do you think we would find them?

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