TKs Welfare Tweaks

Welfare is kind of broken. I've got a few ideas on how to fix it.

I currently see my ideal form of government as a blend of democracy, socialism, and capitalism. I definitely love the idea of Welfare; help somebody out when they're down. At one point in my life we were on food stamps, so I think there some extreme positives here. But, there are also some people that completely abuse the system which gives some heavy right-wingers some easy fuel. They're also not entirely wrong. Here's how to fix it:

I propose a society which is built on four basic rights: The right to food, shelter, healthcare, and education. I propose that those should come without cost to the individual--society shall provide those for everyone.

OK, before you freak out, here's how this would work in terms of Welfare:

1) If you need financial assistance, you will get it for a certain amount of time--I'd say one year. If you've shown no real progress, you get cut off or, you go to Welfare Land. (that is purposefully a ridiculous title by the way, in lieu of a well thought out title). These Welfare Lands would be set up in every state and the very populous states or cities would probably have many. You can also just choose to go straight to Welfare Land.

2) If you have a house, you either must sell it or make some arrangement to continue payments while you are in WL (Welfare Land). If you live in an aparment, I propose a parallel arrangement.

3) WL is made up of a bunch of lots. I propose using small modular housing units for living spaces. These are cheap to mass produce and are easily moved and expanded upon. Since they are basically idential, fixing and maintenance are very low cost since all parts are known. Each person in the family gets one room and there will be one main room that will be divided into kitchen and bathroom. That's it. Extremely basic. Clothes and blankets. No TV, no dishwashers, no laundry, etc. (of course communal ones are avaialable). To live here, an individual doesn't even need to lift a finger. In the society I envision, one could live their entire lives in this little lot and never need to work--society will pay for it. However, you get no money at all from society--just your basic needs met. Food, Healthcare, Education, Shelter. But nothing more. (but don't freak out yet, the good stuff is coming)

4) Working in WL is actually highly encouraged and rewarded. (what? that doesn't sense...did you read what you just wrote in number 3? Yes, I'm getting to that). The overal intent is to have WL as self-sufficient as possible. Probably at least half of all work done here will be to maintain WL--the people living here will build the modular houses, will grow food, will do daycare, build solar panels, wind panels, maintain the houses, cook (only very healthy food--I envision cafeteria style, except not crappy) couple that with exerciese, laundry. The idea is to actualy use as little society money as possible--hopefully eventually even come close to breaking even or become so self-sufficient that society wouldn't actually have to put any money in after however long the initial investments take (realistically, though, the idea is just to attempt to break even or come as close as possible). OK, rewards. So, when a person works here and is productive, they get rewarded. "Say there, Bob, you've been doing a fantastic job--here's a computer, here's a dishwasher." (you get the idea). So instill from the very beginning that if you work--and if you work hard, you get stuff. You don't have to work, but if you do, life is better. Also, since these houses are modular, another incentive would be to add more rooms on if production persists. But the way, if production of the individual falls, then these things would get taken away, sustained productivity is encouraged.

5) Get out. "Gee this place is swell, but even though I've maxed out my house with mods and I've got appliances up the wazoo, my lot is pretty small and the rooms are pretty small, too. Although I love public transport, I really would like to have a car." "Bob, I'm glad you brought this up--we have very fine trade schools here and very fine teachers. We will help you get educated, or perhaps just expand upon what you have and help you market yourself. We will help you set up interviews and since we have day care provided by WL, finding a sitter is not necessary. We like you, but ideally your stay here is temporary. Our awesome WL taxi drivers driving wonderful electric cars recharged by our large array of solar panels will drive you to your appointments and you can save up some cash while you work at your new job oustide of WL. When you're ready to move out of WL, since you've saved up a ton of money by not having to worry about rent or food or health care or paying for education,and you've decided on a career that you like, we will help you transition into the new car, house and appliances that you payed for with your own money."

5) As a final edit, I also propose that if someone goes bankrupt, they can come to WL and their debts will not go away, but they will be frozen while they are at WL. However, the individual will have to pay off those debts before they can get much more than a computer.

This is just a quick sketch that I threw together in my head and hurled out upon the page here. Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always appreciated and I love discussions. Keep it polite and keep it smart. Semantic arguments are a waste of time. Discuss to grow and learn and educate, not to belittle or just talk.

TKs Tweaks

I started this blog because I really love to tweak stuff. My intent is just to think of stuff to tweak and then, well. tweak it. My first tweak is definitely some pretty light fare: TKs Welfare Tweaks