Thousands of people in Kenya are getting free money for 12 years in an experiment that could redefin

[applegrove]

Chris Weller at Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/basic-income-study-kenya-redefining-nature-of-work-2018-1

"SNIP...........

In a Kenyan village, cows with visible ribs saunter in the fields, here and there bowing their heads to graze. The countryside is sprawling, dry, and, above all, poor.

Gathered at a community meeting in October 2016, villagers listened as a representative from the charity GiveDirectly announced its plans to give everyone a standard salary just for being alive. The payments were part of a system known as universal basic income, or UBI. GiveDirectly's was about to become the largest such experiment ever conducted.

Fourteen months since the study launched, GiveDirectly says it has anecdotal evidence that UBI is reducing poverty and that some of the biggest concerns about giving people free money are unfounded.

And while critics contend that basic income encourages people to form bad habits, people in GiveDirectly's village more often rebuild their roofs and pay for their kids' education than quit work and let their lives waste away.

........SNIP"

[PoliticAverse]

1. Now all we need is to find someone we can convince to give the rest of us free money. n/t

[BigmanPigman]

2. The GOP fans think the Tax Scam is doing the same thing for them.

Blind sheep and morons are 75% of the GOP base.

[JI7]

3. What this would mainly do is rid or avoid poverty

But without additional income they would not be able to do a lot of things people do which cost money like eating out regularly , travel, buy better houses etc.

If people can work and are able to get a job most people would do it .

This is why i have no problem and don't worry about people refusing to work if we get basic income. Most of these people will be those who are not likely to get hired anyways.

With basic income the country would be safer and healthier and future generations will be more productive.

[Voltaire2]

5. Most welfare systems penalize you for working.

They incentivize cheating or apathy.

[procon]

4. Most people would use extra money to improve their lives.

Sure, maybe a few idiots would blow everything, but most people won't. They be happy just to take the family out for pizza or go see a movie now and then, but I think most folks would be very frugal in how they would spend their "free money".

There were headlines this week that 44% of households couldn't scrape together $400 in an emergency, so maybe they'd start a nest egg, or move to a better place. Think of all the needful things that people with limited money can't afford, but could if they had "free money". Just buying enough food and clothing is a challenge, let alone buying new glasses, orthodontics or dentures. If people could afford to buy a washing machine, they wouldn't have to spend a small fortune going to the laundromat.

What if someone could use that extra cash to start their own business or buy a car to get to a better job or go to school? The additional buying power would also boost local economies. As a social and economic experiment, I'd like to see programs like this trialed in different communities around the country.

[applegrove]

6. And in Africa a little bit of cash means you can afford the uniforms

to send your kids to school or the pay for cell phone time to find out which market is selling your type of produce at the best price for you.

[klook]

7. When i was dirt poor,

I would've used a basic income to feed my kids a few decent meals a week and buy them clothes.

[Oneironaut]

8. "We can't give people money! We need to build military planes that are never used instead!" -'Merica