{"id":231,"date":"2020-10-13T18:48:56","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T18:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marshallbrain.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=231"},"modified":"2020-10-13T18:48:56","modified_gmt":"2020-10-13T18:48:56","slug":"mars21","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marshallbrain.com\/mars21","title":{"rendered":"Imagining Elon Musk’s Million-Person Mars Colony – Chapter 21"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Imagining Elon Musk’s Million-Person Mars Colony – The greatest thought experiment of all time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by\u00a0Marshall Brain<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 21<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Can the economic system proposed for the Mars colony significantly improve the welfare situation in the United States?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this chapter we are going to build off Chapter 20<\/a> and explore this question: Can the economic system proposed for the Mars colony significantly improve the Welfare situation in the United States? Can we revamp the way Welfare works in the United States to reach a much better outcome for the money spent on Welfare? The reason why this may be possible is because, in Chapter 20<\/a>, we saw the potential for significantly lowering the cost of living. In theory, we should be able to lower the costs of helping Welfare recipients while at the same time dramatically improving their experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as we dive into Welfare, we need to acknowledge something important: The topic of Welfare can be a very thorny issue in the United States. There is no question about this thorniness, so it is important to recognize both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the one hand, Welfare provides a “safety net” that many feel is important\/essential in any civilized society. The idea is that if people stumble and fall economically, the safety net will catch them and prevent a catastrophe. This kind of stumbling is inevitable in any dynamic economy. If a factory closes and 1,000 people lose their jobs, some of those people will not be able to immediately find replacement jobs. Since about half of all Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck [ref<\/a>], this factory closure creates an existential threat \u2013 in a week or two, the people who lose their jobs can no longer pay rent, buy food, make car payments, buy gasoline, cover their health care insurance premiums, etc. This situation is obvious and inevitable \u2013 factories close, companies declare bankrupcy, stores have “going out of business” sales, restaurants go belly up, industries evaporate, companies downsize, people get laid off, businesses move, industries decide to relocate factories overseas, computers and robots automate jobs out of existence on a regular basis in America. It happens all the time. And don’t forget recessions, economic downturns, seasonal cycles, etc. that can cause the whole economy to shrink and lay off millions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The safety net ideally catches people who find themselves in these situations, so they don’t end up losing everything and then living in squalor on the streets. This safety net is especially important for children caught up in these situations, and it is easy to understand why: the image of “innocent children lying in the gutter” or “innocent children starving in poverty” in a modern, developed nation is repulsive to many. How can any wealthy nation allow children living in poverty to starve, to have no access to medical care, to have no roof over their heads, etc.? It feels oxymoronic, like an affront to ethics and morality. If the economy were rock solid steady each day, it would be one thing. But the economy in America is nothing like that \u2013 it is dynamic, it changes all the time, and innocent people can and do get caught in the crossfire every day. The people who get caught should not have their lives ruined, and they should not get thrown out on the street with their children, just because some factory closes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand… many people see Welfare as a “free handout” that creates two big insults to common sense:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. When an able-bodied person receives Welfare money, that money comes by taxing people who are working to earn their living. For many working people, the idea of having their money taken and then given to another able-bodied person who is not working is repulsive. “Why should my hard-earned money be taken from me and given to some lazy person? Let them go out and get a job and start working like I do!” is a common sentiment. “They should save up some money so they aren’t living paycheck-to-paycheck!” is another comment frequently heard.<\/li>
  2. Once people start receiving Welfare money, there is a perception that Welfare then discourages these people from working. “Why should people on Welfare ever decide to work when they can get Welfare money for free?” is the sentiment.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Martin Gilens, a political scientist at Princeton University, puts it this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s first define what we mean by \u201cWelfare.\u201d The way I use it in my work corresponds with how the public would use it \u2014 it refers to cash assistance, or something very close to cash assistance, that\u2019s given to people who are working age and unemployed\u2026 <\/p>

    Welfare is unique in that it provides a substitute for work. It provides cash assistance for able-bodied working-age adults, and that leads to the perception that it\u2019s easily abused and that large numbers of people who are receiving Welfare don\u2019t really need it. And that is what I found to be the fundamental basis for the public\u2019s cynicism and objection\u2026<\/p>

    There has always been a certain degree of cynicism and concern about Welfare benefits \u2014 about government programs \u2014 especially those that provide cash to the poor. Even in the 1930s, when FDR was initiating the first federal relief and assistance programs, he characterized Welfare as a narcotic and a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. [ref<\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Welfare becomes even more uncomfortable for many people when the benefits stack up to create a sizable free “paycheck” for Welfare recipients. This article provides one perspective on how high a stack Welfare benefits can get:<\/p>\n\n\n\n