Anecdotally, I’ve heard lots of people argue that poor people are only poor because they have poor financial skills (and in the case of homeless people, that they spend all their money on drugs) and giving them more money is trying to fill in a bottomless pit.
I also believe that many of them were born with a range of disadvantages and could have done very well under other circumstances.
A lot of them also do struggle with addiction and mental illness and it is worth considering that this can mix poorly with handing people a bunch of no strings cash. I don't think that's a reason not to do it at all but it shouldn't be ignored either.
I'm certainly not the worlds biggest expert on homeless people but I volunteer at a needle exchange and have encountered more than most so I'm somewhat speaking from experience. Sweeping this stuff under the rug doesn't make it not true.
I was mostly addressing the post I was replying to that claimed that nobody was opposed to direct cash payments - which I think is not true at all.
Also, I’m not trying to sweep it under the rug, and I’m not saying that many homeless people don’t have poor money management or addiction issues. However, there is a theory that giving homeless folks direct cash is a waste of time/money due to these issues and will produce no positive outcomes - which the experiment linked seems to contradict. In other words, while these issues do exist, direct cash payments do still seem to be at least somewhat effective.
(Also, thank you for spending your time and effort volunteering at a very non-glamorous but very important service!)
I chuckled at this post on WSB yesterday. Someone wrote "if I had any cash, I'd buy more GME to average out my cost." Someone wisely replied "this is why you don't have cash."
I chuckle at your chuckle. To me that "someone" sounds like a short trolling for more longs in the stock.
I say this as someone who has lurked WSB on reddit for a long time.
Those tricky shorts, always looking to drive up the sock price. How'd I miss it?
// I ... lurked WSB on reddit for a long time.
I totally believe you!
This is certainly a thing. I know people who could be firmly in the middle class, but instead live paycheck to paycheck or worse due to very poor financial decisions they continue to make.
I am especially entertained when “upper” and “lower” middle class come into play.
> I know people who could be firmly in the middle class, but instead live paycheck to paycheck or worse due to very poor financial decisions
This is middle class person that spends all the money on useless things. But, I don't see how it is relevant example of poor person, they have good income.