Will Programmable Money Help The Welfare State?
Hey Jessocialists
In our current so-called civilised world, we see millions of people being marginalised by the system. They are stuck in poverty without access to jobs and the ability or the will to lift themselves out of their current plight. Governments around the world allocate billions of their tax revenue to social grants to provide some sort of income to these people, creating a welfare state.
A section of the population that lives on these handouts. We often see two extreme sides to this story with some saying welfare makes people lazy and gives them a reason to leach off of others as the middle class supports their lifestyle. The claim is that this discourages people from showing ambition to become contributing members of society.
While others say without it we would descend into chaos as these people become more desperate and disillusioned they become more radicalised and will look to crime or civil war as a solution.
Image source: - universiteitleiden.nl
Money not making it to the right avenues
The problem with handing out cash is that of fungibility since welfare handouts the same cash that others work for, people feel that their hard-earned money is being given away. While some work for it others wait for their weekly and monthly hand out.
Since the cash can be used in any means necessary we see people misusing the money. Instead of paying for their kids, their food, their rent they paying for alcohol, drugs or other unnecessary consumer goods. Much of the state funds do not go to places that assist these people to move out of their situation.
Making a case for money with strings attached
Now that we have programmable money it provides a unique solution to this program where the money handed out by the state is forcibly programmed to only be accepted by certain vendors and cannot be exchanged peer to peer. This money can only be used for basic services and certain living expenses or transactions will be rejected.
This means funds are then moved to the right avenues and the need for any other goods and services would require you to find standard fungible cash to try and purchase those goods and services. This programmable money can now provide the safety net these people need while they go out and look for work to buy things that they would additionally want to improve their lives.
Let's connect
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In theory, the principles presented sound good. By now, we all know that no matter how good the system is, it's bound to be abused by a few. I find your take interesting. ^_^
You're most likely 100% correct either the issuer (government) will find a way to abuse it or the receiver will, but if even 1 - 10% of people can be given the push to get themselves out of poverty over what's currently available then I think it's worth trying. We're never going to solve these issues with one change.
We have to make one, see how it works and then fix from there but just sitting around debating the pros and cons and never doing anything has never helped anyone. Which is basically how its been here.
We're so busy arguing over the best solution that nothing is ever done.
Still I am not sure that we should control every bit of money given to them.
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Why would you say that? Shouldn't money that is given be different from money earned? I think this could work for UBI's too
I do think money should be paid out to rent etc to make sure they pay for the basic living cost. Still I think a little bit left over if any should have some free choice
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Yes I agree it seems authoritarian to force money to be funnelled into certain areas but we can see from the studies people aren't using the money they get on constructive purchases. What I am hoping this would do is push people to think okay my basics are covered, now anything I need and want over and above that I need to work for to get. Perhaps a part-time job, start a little business which is good for not only the household income but self-esteem and gets people into the economy whereas now they are basically in self-exile
We clearly tried the system with free choice and it hasn't worked, well at least where I live so something new has to be put on the table
Fair point and it could be a great way to do it.
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Any basic statistics class teaches you that you can use "studies" to prove almost anything.
Im not sure if changing the form of money will help or not but I'm sure that form of government will.
Democracy at times is abused and even dictatorship is. It has to be a balance of both democracy and dictatorship.
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I think we will have different forms of money becoming mainstream each with their own benefits. Government money will come with strings attached (which is already the case) while private money will have more benefits like privacy and freedom of purchase making it more valuable to people.
That way people can see the benefit of holding hard money and private money and not completely relying on fiat
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What a misconstrued assumption thinking that people who receive aid spend it on "drugs and alcohol."
How authoritarian of you, to further control people's lives, simply because government has made us the only species on the planet who has to pay for a place to live and food to eat.
Before colonization, food and shelter were a basic right, how sad that now basic rights are seen as something that should be even more controlled.
So what would your solution be?
Our land generates enough wealth to feed and house. Let us give people a basic income that can feed and house them and their families.
Look at extremely rich families who don't have to worry about food, shelter and education - the Kardashians and Hiltons are a minority, many of those families produce leaders, doctors, professors, and professionals of all kinds.
Let us stop assuming that people are lazy, incompetent and need to be forced into action.
Take the steem verse for example. Let us say that steem moons to the point where we no longer have to worry about money. How many of us would spend our days drunk and high? How many of us would use our time to spend it with our families, volunteer at our schools, work on our gardens and homes, educate ourselves and read?
I really cannot speak for the US, never been there don't know what it's like to live there.
I'm from South Africa, I grew up in Apartheid a highly authoritarian regime I know what its like first hand. I've worked in the slums, I've lived in the slums and I'm basing my judgement on what my peers who grew up in poverty were doing.
I can't say what will work in one region will work in another, people are different, they think differently, have different backgrounds, ways of thinking, group dynamics. South Africa is very much a welfare state and we cannot simply stop handouts, but we also cannot increase it because well theres such a high population that are unemployed there's only so much that can be redistributed.
It's not that radical to say certain money comes with strings attached, almost all money does. What I'm thinking is that if money is given that is programmable that can be redeemed by certain stores and perhaps even discounted when used at small business vendors its enough to drive the velocity of money in the right directions to help people out of poverty.
I have not dismissed your idea nor called you any sort of this or that. I am happy to listen to all ideas. If you think my idea won't work thats fine
From my limited understanding of South Africa, its seems that the Native People, just like the Native People here in the "United States" were robbed of their basic way of living. Land was taken away, basic resources were redistributed to the colonizers, and then the question of "what do we do with these poor people now" came to be.
People need land, people need opportunity to grow.
Handouts are a bandaid. We need something to care for and tend. It is sad to me that we want to control people more instead of find the ways and opportunities to let them thrive.
I did call you "authoritative" and my dismissiveness of your idea came from the assumption that people want to be drunk and high, instead of recognizing that drugs and alcohol are a means of escape for desperate people who want to create good feelings in their lives.
I guess the only "real" solution is the solution that we can work on ourselves. For me, it is making sure that everyone in my community receives proper education, the ability to read, and form thoughts for themselves.