Reply To: Government programs are not tzedakah

gavra_at_work,

No welfare or other government direct payments without mandatory relocation and work (similar to “workfare”),

Relocation expenses can be pretty high, as well as potential social impacts of moving, such as being far away from family/friends, adjusting to a new culture, etc. Maybe teleworking technology can help prevent the need for moving. What do you think about something like mandatory community service (I guess you could call it “make-work”)?

or go all out in the other direction with unconditional basic income.

I’ve thought the same thing before, and it is an interesting idea. I wonder if such a program would just result in drastic inflation, particularly for housing costs (which I think are already a primary cause of economic stress).