The actual machinery of this bothers me, though.
The straightforward stuff we can all agree about: (or perhaps not, and I’ll change my mind gladly with evidence)
- Build dense homes in poor places adjacent to places of economic activity so that private transport is cheap and public transport makes sense for the state
- Provide baseline medical care at cost from the state
But there is so much stuff that is trade-offs. Here’s some stuff I would want which others won’t:
- Baseline medical care should be MD-free and be purely NPs. Rationale: the state can boost NP production as needed / it has no control over MD production
- Leverage access should be limited but it should be possible to lie on the forms and face the music in the downside case. Folks like me should have access, but folks like this guy in the story shouldn’t. He’s going to spiral but I’ve weathered six figure losses with equanimity
- I want to control addictive substances but clearly prohibition doesn’t work and clearly many incapable people use them whereas also many capable use them. Ideally, people like me (smart, easy de-addiction) should have access and the remainder should furnish some sort of bond before they are permitted but that’s impossible
Also, I looked into the homelessness situation a while back when the COVID pandemic was in full swing and it is full of people who are not outcomes-oriented Gish Galloping their way to nonsense interventions.
The GiveWell.org of American poverty interventions would be nice, I think.