spacefem

Luck and birthright are such big factors in life! And people don’t sleep on park benches because they want to (though they may chose the bench over a shelter because they are afraid to be indoors, or risk losing their few possessions, or there is no room at the shelter, etc). There have been so many studies showing that sharing wealth in a judgement-free way doesn’t lead to more crime or laziness; it leads to better outcomes for everyone, including the rich (because long-term they pay less taxes to cover the costs of prisons and so on). I was listening to a radio piece just yesterday about a study where randomly-selected people were given $10,000 to spend as they wish. The only requirement was that they report at the end of the experiment period on how they had spent it. Overall, even the most financially needy folks passed on over half that money for the benefit of others. Studies on universal basic income and supportive housing for the homeless (including drug addicts), have shown similar positive results.