To end poverty, guarantee everyone in Canada $20,000 a year. But are you willing to trust the poor?

ERIN ANDERSSEN The Globe and Mail Published Friday, Nov. 19, 2010 6:16PM EST Last updated Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 4:08PM EDT

via To end poverty, guarantee everyone in Canada $20,000 a year. But are you willing to trust the poor? – The Globe and Mail

 

Excerpt

… And the worst, she says, is that you learn quickly “that you can’t count on anything.”

But what if we gave Ms. Gray and other poor Canadians something to count on: cash directly in their pockets, with no conditions, trusting people to do what’s right for them? It’s a bold idea, and it runs counter to the paternal approach to poverty that polices what is done with “our” money and tries to strong-arm the poor into better lives.