I think GiveDirectly is absolutely on the right track regarding the superiority of cash over other aid interventions, especially at scale. Note that none of GiveWell’s top charities are capable of spending billions of dollars without dropping below 1X GiveDirectly. It’s the only intervention that seems theoretically capable of ending global poverty.
GiveDirectly has the (admirable, I love what they’re doing & they should not change gears) desire to give cash (or UBI) to the poorest people in the world.
The longtermist question is more about the positives for society from having a policy that creates a stable economic foundation over the long term. It would suggest that we should not just focus on global development aid, but also focus on ending poverty in developed countries.
Poverty itself is a massive drain on resources, and I think it’s the greatest creator of problems in society. Ending it, based on the research above, would meaningfully improve the human experience for most people (even the wealthy who would have extra taxes) because we would have a more stable society.
In particular, helping hundreds of millions of people (especially kids) escape poverty could result in a ton more interest and workers available to work on longtermist issues. When people don’t have to think about day-to-day survival all the time, they can care about the long-term future.
Does ubi pertain to longtermism in ways that givedirectly does not?
I think GiveDirectly is absolutely on the right track regarding the superiority of cash over other aid interventions, especially at scale. Note that none of GiveWell’s top charities are capable of spending billions of dollars without dropping below 1X GiveDirectly. It’s the only intervention that seems theoretically capable of ending global poverty.
GiveDirectly has the (admirable, I love what they’re doing & they should not change gears) desire to give cash (or UBI) to the poorest people in the world.
The longtermist question is more about the positives for society from having a policy that creates a stable economic foundation over the long term. It would suggest that we should not just focus on global development aid, but also focus on ending poverty in developed countries.
Poverty itself is a massive drain on resources, and I think it’s the greatest creator of problems in society. Ending it, based on the research above, would meaningfully improve the human experience for most people (even the wealthy who would have extra taxes) because we would have a more stable society.
In particular, helping hundreds of millions of people (especially kids) escape poverty could result in a ton more interest and workers available to work on longtermist issues. When people don’t have to think about day-to-day survival all the time, they can care about the long-term future.