The “deserving” poor: Who should get public assistance? — class 10
Friends,
Today I examine the morally and politically complex question of who deserves public assistance. Just click below, and you’re in the class.
I reach back into history — to the 14th century, as well as to the last 40 years in America — to see how this question has been answered differently over time. And contrast the dominant view since the Clinton administration with a remarkable experiment America conducted between July and December 2021.
In particular, the questions I’ll be addressing are: Which strategy has succeeded best in remedying poverty? Which has raised the wages of the bottom half? At what cost? Should we eliminate all specific safety-net programs and move instead to a larger Earned Income Tax Credit? How about a universal basic income?
Recommended readings (just click on the link):
Among the most neglected poor are the mentally ill who are typically automatically denied disability coverage by Social Security and do not have the resources or knowledge to file an appeal using an attorney. Disability is normally only provided by Social Security upon attorney appeal, despite the obvious disability of the applicant. This verges on criminal abuse by a federal government agency.
Canada tried out a minimum income strategy in 1975 in my hometown of Dauphin Manitoba. It lasted 4 years until a government change and it was shut down. It reduced poverty, unemployment, and improved health in the population of about 9500 people. It was seen as too socialist at the time, but the analysis of the data indicates only positive results in the overall cost of social services.