Unpopular opinion: Socialism/government mandated healthcare/housing/whatever, at least in its current/currently proposed form, isn’t going to fix our economy or help that many people get off the streets
I’ve seen people cite scientific evidence to say that “as humans, we’ve always helped out sick and elderly members of our community uvu capitalism is heartless” and you know what? That statement is absolutely 100% correct. There’s not a lie in that statement. Capitalism is cruel, and in the past, we always have helped elderly and sick community members instead of leaving them in the dust.
BUT, the difference nowadays isn’t capitalism. It’s that our communities are considered at a much larger scale than they were centuries ago (and I supposed social seclusion is becoming increasingly popular as the decades go on, so that plays a part in it too). I dont know even close to half of the people who live in my city, but centuries ago, pretty much everyone knew everyone else in your respective tribe/village - or if you didnt know them, you knew someone who did know them.
Riddle me this. Would you feel worse about a city of your friends and acquaintances dying, or a city of people you dont even know dying? Sure, you’d probably (hopefully) feel bad in both cases, but having an actual bond with people adds a whole new layer of emotion to it. Its why most of us dont burst out crying whenever we hear about a school shooting.
The same thing plays into how we treat homeless/poor people in our communities. You see a beggar on the street? Maybe you’ll give them some money if you can spare it (and you arent a complete dick) but probably not a whole lot. But if your friend who you trusted and loved was in that situation? You’d probably do whatever you could to get them back on their feet, right? There’s little difference between your friend and that beggar (assuming the beggar and your friend arent scam artists, but thats another topict) but you’re more likely to help your friend than you are the beggar. Whether its because you trust your friend or you love your friend or both, I’d be hard pressed if anyone could deny that.
But the reverse is true, too. If your friend who you loved and cared about gave you money to get back on your feet, you’d do whatever you could to pay them back, right? (Assuming it was a loan) But the government is faceless; it doesnt care about you anymore than capitalism does. And you probably dont care about the government anymore than it cares about you (besides, yknow, it being in control of your life). My point being, it’s a lot easier to say “oh, I’ll just binge buy this expensive steak with this money” about a handout from the government than it is with the money that your friend loaned you. I’m not saying that poor people are intentionally wasting our money, I’m just saying that there’s less risk there, and people take bigger risks when they have a safety net to fall back on.
I’ve also literally heard, from poor people, that poverty is a cycle. You fall back into it throughout your life, even with handouts from the government. Because - and interjecting my own observations here btw - on your way up from welfare, you start making too much money to get welfare but too little to live off of. And believe me when I say I hear “well you shouldnt be making minimum wage if you have a family/are an adult/whatever!!” all the time, but I can also imagine that you have to start somewhere.
But back on track, the government distributing money from the taxpayer to the person living in poverty adds a layer of animosity between the taxpayer and the poor person. You, a taxpayer, dont see the person you’re helping so you just feel bitter, and you, a poor person, dont see the person whose struggling themselves that’s also paying for part of your wellbeing. I’m not saying that you’re a bad person for being in poverty; the animosity isnt your fault, and a bad decision every once in a while is just human. It’s the government’s.
My proposition is that we focus on financial reform. Not financial aid - financial reform. As I mentioned, I’ve flat-out heard from people living in poverty that its a cycle, which - and I remember this being mentioned in the post - is partially due to not being taught proper saving strategies. So why the fuck are we just giving them handouts without actually helping them? Money doesn’t solve everyone’s problems, and that goes for poor people as well (as ironic as that sounds). Send these people to legitimate classes to teach them proper saving techniques (without charging them 50ish bucks, because...?? do you not understand what poverty means??) and then give them some money and a potential job starting point. And if they need some kind of emotional therapy, then give them whatever they need to be able to work. That kind of approach weeds out the “bums” and helps the people who DO want to improve get back on their feet. And if thats “too expensive” or “too much work” well then consider this; do you realize how much money higher-up government workers get for micromanaging the lives of people they’ve never met? They get to sit on their asses and play god, and they get paid royally for it. If you dont have enough money for that, it sure as hell aint because the taxpayers dont pay enough; take it out of your own paycheck and then we can talk.
