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How guaranteed basic income can reduce infant mortality (publicintegrity.org)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/politics@lemmy.world
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PublicIntegrity.org

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[–] 0 points 3 years ago (5 children)

250 x 22 months (gestation + 1 year) x 1000 = $5,500,000/yr... plus whatever overhead/administration costs are needed for that. where are they going to get the extra money? a $3.5 mllion grant is mentioned - do they expect the public to cough up $2+ million? just for a trial program?

a 2021 study indicates that approximately 22,000 women give birth each year in Philadelphia - assuming that the program expands to include the percentage described as "non-hispanic black" (presumably, the metric valued by the article referenced in the post, though it's just "black" and "white" in the bar graphs) - 43% (9460 births), that'd be $212,080,000 per fiscal year - probably more since it's a 22 month program.

can Philly afford that?

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  • [–] 12 points 3 years ago

    It absolutely can.

    Heck just the amount of tax money we know the US billionaires are currently failing to pay (~$160,000,000,000 / year)[1,2] would cover more than 754 Philadelphias using your math, to say nothing of what a fairer tax rate could do.

    Idk why Americans are always pretending to be poor, it's the will that's lacking, not the funds.

    [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/03/23/tax-avoidance-costs-the-u-s-nearly-200-billion-every-year-infographic/

    [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/20/the-wealthy-may-avoid-163-billion-in-annual-taxes-how-they-do-it-.html

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  • [–] 7 points 3 years ago*

    Fascinating how you have the ability to apply logic to the maths in question but not to what has caused the empty coffers.

    Can humanity afford to prosper if it lets go of the overly greedy? Absolutely, mate. We have a wonderful, rich world and the ingenuity to use the resources wisely. What we lack is good governance.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago)

    I'm confused on why your math is showing it's going to cost $5.5M/year over the nearly 2 year course of the program.

    E: ah you're probably just extrapolating the continued cost if it ends up being renewed another year after this.

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  • [–] -1 points 3 years ago

    Then you have to question what is the lost productivity from all the sick kids who didn’t die, when they become adults. What about the loss of product of their parents now for sick or death.

    Then you have to consider the health costs associated. It’s not as black and white as you think. Sure, it’s expensive, but lots of worthwhile things are.

    How much could we cut spending on the arts, defence, politicians, other government programs for the needy to compensate?

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