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Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Friday, August 02, 2024

Some of L.A.'s poorest families received cash assistance of $1,000 a month as part of a 12-month pilot project launched nearly three years ago. There were no strings attached and they could use the money however they saw fit.

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... Now, a new study finds that the city-funded program was overwhelmingly beneficial.

Participants in the program experienced a host of financial benefits, according to an analysis co-authored by University of Pennsylvania and UCLA researchers. Beyond that, the study found, the initiative gave people the time and space to make deeper changes in their lives. That included landing better jobs, leaving unsafe living conditions and escaping abusive relationships.

"If you are trapped in financial scarcity, you are also trapped in time scarcity," Dr. Amy Castro, co-founder of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research, told The Times. "There's no time for yourself; there's no time for your kids, your neighbors or anybody else." ...

Researchers found that participants reported a meaningful increase in savings and were more likely to be able to cover a $400 emergency during and after the program. Guaranteed-income recipients also were more likely to secure full-time or part-time employment, or to be looking for work, rather than being unemployed and not looking for work, the study found.

"Instead of taking the very first job that was available, that might not have been a lasting, good fit for the family, [the participants were] saying, H old on a minute, I have a moment to sit and think and breathe, and think about where I want my family to be,' " said Dr. Stacia West, also a co-founder of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income Research. ...



#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-08-01 08:49 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

Tres Star Trek and futuristic.

#2 | Posted by RightisTrite at 2024-08-02 01:37 PM | Reply

Thing is if everyone had a guaranteed minimum income prices on everything would be raised to account for this.

#3 | Posted by Tor at 2024-08-02 02:25 PM | Reply

I don't think so. But I do think it illustrates how under paid people are.

#4 | Posted by RightisTrite at 2024-08-02 02:37 PM | Reply

"I don't think so."

Huh? We just witnessed it, with the stimulus and the resultant inflation.

The third stimulus put us over the top: we actually put BACK IN to the economy more than we lost.

FTR, Biden's stimulus was $1400. Trump wanted $2000, which would've resulted in WORSE inflation.

#5 | Posted by Danforth at 2024-08-02 02:49 PM | Reply

Thing is if everyone had a guaranteed minimum income prices on everything would be raised to account for this.

#3 | Posted by Tor

Like Trump's proposed 10% tariffs.

#6 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2024-08-02 02:51 PM | Reply

Interesting idea I had is what if Within Social Services there was something like a lottery system and people would get a basic monthly income for a couple of years if they won it?

#7 | Posted by Tor at 2024-08-02 02:57 PM | Reply

"Interesting idea I had is what if Within Social Services there was something like a lottery system and people would get a basic monthly income for a couple of years if they won it?"

We already have that. It's called living past 70.

#8 | Posted by Danforth at 2024-08-02 03:37 PM | Reply | Funny: 1

Huh? We just witnessed it, with the stimulus and the resultant inflation.

#5 | Posted by Danforth at 2024-08-02 02:49 PM | Reply | Flag: B.S.

Inflation went up because of corporate greed... nothing more. Look at what the auto industry did when people had a fat downpayment check. Look at what real Estate did with insanely low interest rates! The economy is tied to real estate because it sells doodads that make a home. There was so much carpetbagging it was/is breathtaking. They didn't have to raise the prices... but they did... insanely.

The stock market is very happy. People buying online... brick and mortar is unnecessary.
Delivery drivers need petrol and overpriced cars to gig work. I really don't want to read or listen to boohoo about inflation being caused by the government handouts. I think people need to tighten their belts and boycott. They'd lose weight and I bet inflation would dial back.

The most stunning thing about the stimulus and COVID-19 epidemic is how it framed greed at all levels.

I'm never going to buy your argument... I like you so we'll agree to disagree.

#9 | Posted by RightisTrite at 2024-08-02 04:22 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

You know if the corporations actually paid taxes relative to their profit...instead of imaginary job creators... I surmise it could have been a wash.

#10 | Posted by RightisTrite at 2024-08-02 04:25 PM | Reply

"Inflation went up because of corporate greed... nothing more."

Corporate greed was fueled by too many dollars chasing too few goods.

Nothing more complicated.

"I really don't want to read or listen to (macro math) ... "

Translated that for you.

#11 | Posted by Danforth at 2024-08-02 04:27 PM | Reply

#5 | Posted by Danforth

Maybe. The inflation we saw has been mainly driven by scarcity and not excess money.

#12 | Posted by GalaxiePete at 2024-08-02 04:32 PM | Reply

#11 | Posted by Danforth

Again maybe. For example, MOST people in this country need a car. If you need to replace your vehicle, you pay what you must. The auto industry was unable to make nearly enough new ones and jacked up their prices. The result was the price of used vehicles soared as well. This was driven by scarcity.

You might have a point when you start to talk about the actual wage gains of low income earners during the time period. The stimulus however had little to do with inflation.

#13 | Posted by GalaxiePete at 2024-08-02 04:36 PM | Reply

" I like you so we'll agree to disagree."

I like (and respect) you, too. And I don't believe we disagree, fundamentally. In many ways, we're arguing the same thing.

Ultimately, America had more dollars repaid to them than the Covid contraction lost, and corporations saw that, took advantage, and jacked up their prices.

"The auto industry was unable to make nearly enough new ones and jacked up their prices."

Not at first. Initially, they thought NO ONE WOULD EVER DRIVE AGAIN, and offered sweetheart deals. The bride and I had a salesman drive 46 mi to let her test a Crosstrek (nope), and another 46 for a Forester, which we chose: 5 yrs, no interest.

Shortly after that, the market freaked out, and prices jacked up.

The bride actually praised me for timing the market so perfectly. In truth: luck.

That, and I was pissed at losing $30k in the markets over Covid. I would rather've had a new car, I remember grumbling to myself.

#14 | Posted by Danforth at 2024-08-03 02:32 AM | Reply

"The stimulus however had little to do with inflation."

Oh, please, it had (almost) EVERYTHING to do with inflation.

The first one helped out the neediest, but gave folks unaffected the following ; new, extra, spendable money.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Then Biden wanted to do a $1,400 Stimulus coming in, while Trump promised $2,000. Almost ALL of that stimulus was over-and-above what the economy lost during the Covid years. Meanwhile, gas prices rose, and there was a bottleneck in the shipping chain.

There's your perfect storm. Corporations took full advantage, jacking up prices, just as you've claimed. But when prices returned to near normal, Corps kept their new price paradigm.

#15 | Posted by Danforth at 2024-08-03 02:51 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1


Maybe. The inflation we saw has been mainly driven by scarcity and not excess money.
#12 | POSTED BY GALAXIEPETE

Nah, otherwise the inflation would only be with certain products, or industries.

The US/Globe has seen inflation across the board.

The "excess money" created some scarcity yes, but it allowed prices to creep up without stalling the economy.

For instance if it was "scarcity" then the system would have collapsed under a 20% price increases across the board.

But it hasn't.

#16 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-08-03 01:39 PM | Reply

#15

Practically Perfect in Every Way.

#17 | Posted by Corky at 2024-08-03 01:51 PM | Reply

"Ball and colleagues conclude that the rise in the ratio of job vacancies to unemployment contributed almost a third of the rise in core inflation of 2.0 percentage points over a 12-month period. The 2.0-percentage-point increase in inflation explains about half the rise in core inflation, climbing from 2.3 to 6.9 percent (total increase of 4.6 percentage points). And finally, they found that the main contributors to the headline inflation shocks were energy prices (2.7 percentage points) and a backlog of work (1.7 percentage points)." www.bls.gov

Stop buying into the old idea of inflation being caused by the stimulus bill. We did this on a massive scale before, pumping all kinds of dollars into the under something called "Quantitative Easing." We were told over and over that that would make inflation skyrocket. It didn't.

These are old ideas that no longer apply.

Besides, giving someone $1,000 a month could only be inflationary under the "old thinking" if the supply of printed money was exxpanded (more dollars printed), not taken out of the economy (taxes). The "old thinking" was that if an asset was worth $1,000 and it took $1,000 dollars to buy it, then you print an extra 1,000, that the $1,000 is worth only $500 because there are twice as many "dollars" as before. This assumes that there's something backing the "value" of that $1,000. That is not the way a fiat economy works.

#18 | Posted by YAV at 2024-08-03 02:15 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

For those that don't remember, QE was a massive printing of dollars (effectively) injected into the economy.

#19 | Posted by YAV at 2024-08-03 02:19 PM | Reply

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