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comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  3774 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The most conservative way to fight poverty is to send everyone a government check

Single payer or otherwise free healthcare





galen  ·  3774 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Right, what I'm saying is a UBI alone isn't enough to justify eliminating all these social programs. It takes meaningful reform beyond just handing everyone a check.

Meriadoc  ·  3773 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I think it's a good argument that we could drastically reduce the amount of money put into social welfare programs, and even better, use a portion of that money to reinvest in programs where the people that still need it will get better care and coverage. At least until, as has been stated, we get to truly universal healthcare.

user-inactivated  ·  3774 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Most articles that make comparisons like ubi vs current welfare will consider healthcare spending a separate issue and don't use the numbers in their ubi math. Can you link me an example where it's suggested to eliminate, say, medicare to help pay for ubi?

galen  ·  3774 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'll be honest, I don't know of any articles that mention Medicare or health programs specifically, it's just when people say things like "anti-poverty programs" or "social welfare" I tend to think of healthcare as a part of that. Am I reading too much into those phrases?

user-inactivated  ·  3774 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Honestly it might depend in the author. I don't know. This is really a case where we'd have to look at the numbers they're using rather than just assuming the words mean what we expect.

galen  ·  3774 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Fair enough. If only articles like this were more transparent with their calculations.