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1/Today's @bopinion post is about how poverty imposes impossible demands on poor people, making it harder for them to escape poverty. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-02-20/poverty-is-all-about-personal-stress-not-laziness
2/Poverty in the U.S. is all about PRECARITY - not knowing where your kids' next meal will come from, or whether your job will give you hours this week, or whether cops will pull you over, or whether disease or injury will bankrupt you. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-11-26/poverty-in-america-greater-than-statistics-indicate
3/The constant, neverending stress of precarity causes an unbearable cognitive load that makes it impossible for poor people to "bootstrap" themselves out of poverty, as conservatives are constantly demanding they do. https://harvardmagazine.com/2015/05/the-science-of-scarcity
4/So how can we break people out of this cycle of precarity and stress?
Conservatives, who believe that poverty is caused by laziness and bad values, think we should CUT welfare benefits to force people to work.
This is nuts. We should be doing the exact opposite!!
Conservatives, who believe that poverty is caused by laziness and bad values, think we should CUT welfare benefits to force people to work.
This is nuts. We should be doing the exact opposite!!
5/The first tool to break the cycle is BASIC INCOME. A check that reliably, dependably arrives each month (or two weeks).
Think how much less precarious and frightening it would make poor people's lives! https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-01-23/a-basic-income-for-everyone-it-s-not-a-crazy-idea
Think how much less precarious and frightening it would make poor people's lives! https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-01-23/a-basic-income-for-everyone-it-s-not-a-crazy-idea
6/Next: Stop employers from forcing workers to be on call or have irregular schedules.
Regular schedules and guaranteed hours for all workers. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-06-18/on-call-work-schedules-make-it-hard-to-have-a-life
Regular schedules and guaranteed hours for all workers. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-06-18/on-call-work-schedules-make-it-hard-to-have-a-life
7/Next: National health insurance. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-09-23/employer-based-health-insurance-holds-back-u-s-economy
8/Next: Abolish cash bail for nonviolent crimes. https://nypost.com/2019/12/03/bloomberg-proposes-ending-cash-bail-for-many-non-violent-crimes/
9/Next: Reduce traffic stops in poor neighborhoods.
And for God's sake, make it illegal for cops to just steal people's stuff. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-06-21/government-needs-a-good-reason-for-civil-asset-forfeiture
And for God's sake, make it illegal for cops to just steal people's stuff. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-06-21/government-needs-a-good-reason-for-civil-asset-forfeiture
10/Next: Legalize marijuana. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-04-20/it-s-up-to-republicans-to-legalize-marijuana
11/Next: Limit evictions. https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1206265983750434817
12/These changes would go a long way toward making the lives of the poor less precarious and anxiety-inducing. Which would give them a chance to escape from poverty.
(end) https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-02-20/poverty-is-all-about-personal-stress-not-laziness
(end) https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-02-20/poverty-is-all-about-personal-stress-not-laziness
