this post was submitted on 21 Dec 2023
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If 100 homeless people were given $750 per month for a year, no questions asked, what would they spend it on?

That question was at the core of a controlled study conducted by a San Francisco-based nonprofit and the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.

The results were so promising that the researchers decided to publish results after only six months. The answer: food, 36.6%; housing, 19.5%; transportation, 12.7%; clothing, 11.5%; and healthcare, 6.2%, leaving only 13.6% uncategorized.

Those who got the stipend were less likely to be unsheltered after six months and able to meet more of their basic needs than a control group that got no money, and half as likely as the control group to have an episode of being unsheltered.

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20231221131158/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-12-19/750-a-month-no-questions-asked-improved-the-lives-of-homeless-people

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[–] FlyingSquid 148 points 1 year ago (8 children)

$750 a month would improve the lives of plenty of people who aren't homeless too. Up to and including the middle class.

But I suppose a UBI is a non-starter everywhere in the U.S. but Alaska.

[–] EmpathicVagrant 65 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You want universal anything it’s an uphill battle because of the cattle shouting about the cost or some nonsense.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

Those who will make more money with UBI will just be mad they get taxed slightly more.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Our corporate oligarchs already pitch a fit about collective bargaining, universal healthcare, and adjusting minimum wage to match inflation. I can't imagine they'd react well to a universal basic income except by raping the fading middle class even more.

[–] FlyingSquid 29 points 1 year ago (3 children)

The universal healthcare one baffles me because it would save businesses money and increase employee retention. But corporations still fight against it.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Having healthcare tied to your employer is both a way for companies to pay less while offering more benefits to entice new workers and also keep workers from fighting too hard for their own rights because now maintaining a job is directly related to health. If we had universal healthcare, companies would have to compete more directly on wage and that would cost them more. Providing healthcare, while negotiating for deals for said healthcare means they can say that they are providing more benefits than they actually pay for.

[–] GoofSchmoofer 14 points 1 year ago

And if people's healthcare isn't tied to their jobs there would be more people willing to start their own business increasing the chance of competition.

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[–] alienanimals 120 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Almost like the 1% are stealing from each and every one of us. With a fraction of their profits each one of us would live a better life.

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[–] [email protected] 85 points 1 year ago (26 children)

Giving people money improves their quality of life?

Who would have guessed?

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[–] hperrin 82 points 1 year ago (1 children)

“What can we do to help these people whose problem is that they don’t have money?”

“Give them money?”

“That’s just crazy enough to work!”

[–] waz 43 points 1 year ago

Wait a sec. You're telling me that giving money to people that don't have money helps them do things that require money?! I'm shocked.

[–] deweydecibel 66 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Those who got the stipend were less likely to be unsheltered after six months and able to meet more of their basic needs than a control group that got no money, and half as likely as the control group to have an episode of being unsheltered.

I feel extremely bad for the control group.

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[–] Potatos_are_not_friends 58 points 1 year ago (17 children)

$750 a month is like $9000 a year.

I spend $500 on groceries!

I think this program would help a lot in so many ways and I hope it passes.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 year ago (4 children)

$750 a month would be life altering for me.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (14 children)

All these UBI experiments ever seem to demonstrate is the "BI" part.

But the part that needs to be demonstrated, IMHO, is the "U".

[–] Maggoty 22 points 1 year ago (35 children)

Well we can't do that until we do that. And shitting on the experiments means we'll never do the Universal part.

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[–] PP_BOY_ 31 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Now watch how out of touch conservatives are when they start claiming that these people are living in luxury. It's a great project and I'm not trying to demerit the people in charge, but $750 doesn't go far at all in a place like San Francisco

[–] themeatbridge 18 points 1 year ago

Remember when they flipped their shit over obama phones? Like, poor people were getting free or low cost cell phones. The horror! What's next, food stamp steaks? What? You mean food stamps aren't limited to gruel and powdered milk?

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 year ago (2 children)

On 750 a month I could live in the forest somewhere and do occasional supply runs to replenish my tree fort. Or do a shit ton of drugs but either way I'd be pretty happy.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

Tbh as long as you weren't hurting anyone, putting others in danger and were happy I personally wouldn't give a toss what you did with your money even if that came from taxes I paid. Better this then the current homeless situation.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Grow shrooms; do both.

[–] FlashMobOfOne 27 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There's also been a lot of success with providing housing to the homeless. When they have stability, they use it to create a better life for themselves, and that translates to lower costs in terms of enforcement, ER visits, legal aid, and incarceration.

The US doesn't provide for this in federal policy because we like our laws to reflect the cruelty and malice we have in our hearts for perceived undesirables.

[–] Buffalox 15 points 1 year ago (4 children)

If you are mentally ill or had a streak of bad luck, it's your own fault. Be smart and get born rich like almost every rich person does. My God why are people so stupid?
/s

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[–] AeonFelis 23 points 1 year ago (7 children)

How did they collect data on what these homeless people were spending the money on? Sounds like some questions were asked after all...

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They asked the questions afterwards...

[–] Pogbom 12 points 1 year ago

Exactly, they gave it to them and said "do whatever you want with it" then just checked what they did later.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

Receipts probably

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[–] anonymous222 19 points 1 year ago (2 children)

750$ a month changed the lives of people that had nothing? Yeah, right. Obviously!

[–] TheHotze 34 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Studies that test obvious expectations are actually super important. Sometimes the results are not what you expect, and the rest of the time, you have a study to point to whenever someone tries to say there's no evidence of that outcome.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Well, there is an opinion that homeless people would use all money for booze, tobacco and drugs, etc. A study like this helps to contradict such opinion.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago
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