Ever since Ronald Reagan and his “welfare queens” assertion, the Republican Party has been against granting very poor, often homeless people any cash assistance. Now we have objectively verifiable evidence that this, like most Republican social perspectives is crap, as this report describes. As it says, “According to Foundations for Social Change, giving out the cash transfers in the Vancouver area actually saved the broader society money. Enabling 50 people to move into housing faster saved the shelter system $8,277 per person over the year, for a total savings of $413,850. That’s more than the value of the cash transfers, which means the transfers pay for themselves.” Once again proving my assertion that social policies that foster wellbeing are also cheaper than other more punitive options. Will we learn from what are Northern neighbors discovered. Frankly, it will never happen as long as Republicans control government at any level. Not because they are Republicans but because Republicans have a sick and distorted worldview.
A man protests homelessness in Vancouver. Around 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness each year, and the rates continue to rise. Credit: Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty
Ray, a man in his 50s, used to live in an emergency homeless shelter in Vancouver, Canada. Then he participated in a study that changed his life. He was able to pay for a place to live and courses to prepare him for his dream job.
The newly published, peer reviewed PNAS study, conducted by the charity Foundations for Social Change in partnership with the University of British Columbia, was fairlysimple. It identified 50 people in the Vancouver area who had become homeless in the past two years. In spring 2018, it gave them each one lump sum of $7,500 (in Canadian dollars). And it told them to do whatever they wanted with the cash.
“At first, I thought it was a little far-fetched — too good to be true,” Ray said. “I went with one of the program representatives to a bank and we opened up a bank account for […]
