Friends,

Today I examine the morally and politically complex question of who deserves public assistance.

I reach back into history — to the 14th century, as well as to the last 40 years in America — to see how this question has been answered differently over time. And contrast the dominant view since the Clinton administration with a remarkable experiment America conducted between July and December 2021.

In particular, the questions I’ll be addressing are: Which strategy has succeeded best in remedying poverty? Which has raised the wages of the bottom half? At what cost? Should we eliminate all specific safety-net programs and move instead to a larger Earned Income Tax Credit? How about a universal basic income?

Recommended readings (just click on the link):

• Liz Schott, Ife Floyd, and LaDonna Pavetti, “Cash Assistance Should Promote Equity,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,” August 4, 2021

• Annie Lowrey, “The Counterintuitive Workings of the Minimum Wage,” The Atlantic, January 29, 2021

• Hilary Hoynes and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, “Strengthening SNAP as an Automatic Stabilizer,” The Hamilton Project, May 2019

• Allie Conti, “Young People Are Poorer Than Ever and Government Programs Are Failing Them,” Vice, June 7, 2019