A new B.C.-based study undercuts the persistent stereotype that homeless people can't be trusted with cash, according to the lead researcher who says it also highlights a different way to respond to the crisis.

Zhao says having data on how people who did get the money actually spent it is something she thinks will help counteract stereotypes, increase empathy and potentially get skeptics and the public on board with the idea of providing cash transfers.

Now that the study is complete, the plan is to replicate it and expand it to other cities in Canada and the U.S.

  • mo_ztt ✅English
    9•1 year ago

    Hey, substantive statements! Okay, I can rock with this.

    “Welfare” is a very broad term. It can refer to anything from unemployment benefits, to SNAP, to this story about one-time aid specifically for homeless people in Canada (which is very far removed from anything resembling “welfare” as it’s commonly implemented in the US), to section 8 housing or housing assistance, and lots more. There are so many goals and implementation details with varying levels of success that I don’t think it makes sense to apply any kind of blanket logic to the whole collection, let along to apply the logic of “this one-time homeless benefit is welfare -> welfare never works -> end of discussion.”

    Why would I put more than the minimal amount of effort into any post on lemmy, knowing that 100 communist teenagers are just going to reply “lol wrong, you fascist” and downvote?

    Yeah, I 100% agree with this, having been on the receiving end of it myself plenty of times. I don’t think I’m doing that to you in any regard, but I do get the frustration with the overall state of discourse here (including from “the left”) and reluctance to start any kind of real discussion. All I can say is if that bothers you, you gotta be part of the solution instead of starting to do the same thing yourself.

    If you want to debate me, I’d rather do that in real time on another program like discord.

    Lol not interested. You’re on Lemmy, and you said specific things on Lemmy, and I replied. If you’re suddenly not interested in having a discussion on Lemmy, then I won’t try to force you into it I guess.

    • @Strangle@lemmy.world
      -1•1 year ago

      No, I love talking to you. I wish there were more people around here like you.

      I appreciate this discussion. You’ve been a bright spot on lemmy for me, thank you

      • Froyn
        4•1 year ago

        Can you guys do a comparison between personal welfare and corporate welfare?
        Specifically how Corporations are people, yet the welfare they receive is substantially disproportionate to that given to personal welfare (state/federal programs).

        I’m interested to see the discussion when it comes to throwing money at companies to fix the problems of underpaid workers and profit-driven inflation.

        • athos77
          3•1 year ago

          Also how corporations intentionally have policies that make the taxpayers subsidize the workers? When you start at Walmart, the first thing they do is tell you how to apply for food stamps. There are a ton of places that arrange things so that you’re never a full-time employee who therefore gets benefits - permanent use of “temps” from “temp agencies”, repeatedly extending “initial probation periods”, setting impossible goals then downgrading hours when they’re not met, simply refusing to ever give 34 hours a week.