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Launching the Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative

blog.codinghorror.com

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Re: Launching the Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative

#71

Post by jmathai »

codinghorror wrote: post #59
bombcar wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Local is often the best way, especially if you don't have resources that would overwhelm them (donating $1 billion to a local food pantry would likely blow it up). But get involved personally; attend meetings, talk to people in the community, get to know what is being done and by whom, and places where some money goes a long way will start to become clear. In my experience the all-volunteer places are often way under…

100% do things locally. If there is a food bank in your area, support it heavily. That's the absolute base of the hierarchy of needs. For example, in that blog post, expand the immediate donations. Note $100k to Alameda Food Bank, where my partner Betsy regularly volunteers.

Thanks. We are involved in The Healing Center locally and that’s definitely a place to lean in on “more heavily”.

https://www.healingcentercincinnati.org/

Re: Launching the Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative

#72

Post by bombcar »

codinghorror wrote: post #60
rightlane wrote: post #42

This honestly rubs me the wrong way. I have very close friends who mightily struggle financially but they are always just outside the threshold for assistance. Basic statistics don't capture the people who are barely making it or living on debt. The appeal to me of UBI was always that it was highlighting that everyone needs their basic needs met. The moderately paid worker barely making rent in SF needs the money as…

it's "yes, and". Help those people who are selling their blood to buy happy meals first. I am not exaggerating. I wish I was. Check out the book "$2.00 a day: Living On Almost Nothing in America" for so much evidence. Disclaimer: I know the author now. Because I have to. It's related to the work we're doing. https://www.google.com/search?q=%242+a+day%3A+living+on+almo... Beyond that, maybe SF really is too expensive…

I think too many people (especially here, but it's understandable) think poverty just is "barely making rent".

Oh, that's the rich poverty! There are so many layers below that where it ceases to be poverty and starts being something else entirely, an entire alternate system of bartering and deals and staying alive day to day.

Re: Launching the Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative

#73

Post by bombcar »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #2

Why rural Americans? The same amount of cash will go a lot further and likely be more effective in rural areas of other countries. The source of Atwood's wealth (Stack Overflow etc) is global, not American.

A direct answer - because if you donate and work with people near you, you have to deal with the people. It doesn't sound like much, but it's the whole linchpin - you have to face the reality and often realize that what you want to do simply can't be done for any number of reasons, and then you have to back up and try a different tactic.

If you ship your money across the globe you can sit back and be content that it's working well based on the glossy reports you get; you don't have to actually deal with the people as people; just as statistics.

Re: Launching the Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative

#75

Post by micromacrofoot »

jmathai wrote: post #23

> all we want to do is advance the concept of direct cash transfer I love the simplicity of this. I've been thinking a lot about generosity myself. And while I don't have $100m, our family also has everything we need. What ideas, resources and tools are there for folks like me who want to be as generous as possible with what we have? To start, I've set up a Donor Advised Fund because I learned that it's a great way t…

advocate for policy change where possible, locally first

Re: Launching the Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative

#76

Post by micromacrofoot »

rightlane wrote: post #42

This honestly rubs me the wrong way. I have very close friends who mightily struggle financially but they are always just outside the threshold for assistance. Basic statistics don't capture the people who are barely making it or living on debt. The appeal to me of UBI was always that it was highlighting that everyone needs their basic needs met. The moderately paid worker barely making rent in SF needs the money as…

> The moderately paid worker barely making rent in SF needs the money as much as anybody

You should look into how not true this is. Financial strain is not financial insecurity.

Re: Launching the Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative

#77

Post by paleogizmo »

This post is a bit old, but it's worth bringing up just what a terrible idea this is. The author takes the chief benefit of UBI and removes its main benefit which is the lack of means-testing. Then he makes it even dumber by restricting beneficiaries to rural areas where jobs are less prevalent.
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