Opinion: by Carrie Sheffield
A new study provides fresh evidence about the economic dangers of “free money.” – Christopher Sadowski
“First, do no harm” is the basic rule of the Hippocratic Oath, the age-old physicians’ ethics covenant. The same applies to our public policies, especially those aimed at helping the most vulnerable through our social-safety net.
We have fresh evidence of the harmful, unintended consequences of welfare programs giving handouts to poorer households. That “free money” comes at a cost: less earned income and liquid cash, diminished work performance and satisfaction, increased financial stress, poorer sleep quality and physical health, along with increased loneliness and anxiety.
Those findings are from a new study by University of Exeter and Harvard University scholars. They studied Americans living in poverty under one of three conditions during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: those receiving a onetime $500 unconditional cash transfer (half a month’s worth of total household income for the median participant), a $2,000 unconditional cash transfer (two months’ income) or nothing. Read the rest at nyp.com.
