• mookulator@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        1 year ago

        Some of the most interesting parts of that book discuss this graph, and the debate among economists about whether it’s real (which is ludicrous because of course the poverty trap is real). The graph is interesting though because it shows a level of income that societies should strive to achieve for their citizens, ie the minimum you need to earn to get out of the trap. I don’t thing Esther Duflo (author) touches on it, but the extension of this theory to UBI is clear. Everyone should earn that minimum.

        https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-6ce43854da6d1a26da5b33a871fe272d.webp

        • Martineski@lemmy.fmhy.mlOPM
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          1 year ago

          UBI is not the only thing that’s very important we also should advocate for UBH (Universal Basic Healthcare).

  • usrtrv@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    14
    ·
    1 year ago

    Similar to the boots theory from the late Sir Terry Pratchett.

    The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. … A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

    • orientalsniper@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      I used to buy 2 pairs of sneakers every year, then I saved a bit to buy a nice pair of Red Wings boots, they lasted me 5 years.

  • Pandantic@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    1 year ago

    There are a million ways being poor makes you more poor. Your job doesn’t do direct deposit? Well that’s a $35/mo maintenance fee at your bank for that. It’s insane.

  • Darkard@lemmy.world
    cake
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    *in America

    Medical debt is a uniquely American problem. Everything except the dentistry in the UK would cost you nothing, and even that is in part paid for by the NHS.

    Land of the free my ass…

    • Martineski@lemmy.fmhy.mlOPM
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      Ummm… The post is about a thing that’s not unique to america. It says nothing about medical debt. Not saying that it’s not a problem but it’s not the topic of this post.