Executive summary: Poverty in the U.S. causes significant suffering and death, but the social safety net is ineffective due to bureaucratic burden and restrictions; evidence suggests more accessible cash-based programs could reduce poverty and save lives.
Key points:
Poverty in the U.S. is associated with a high number of deaths each year, more than homicides, firearms, suicide, and drug overdoses.
The U.S. has a higher child mortality rate and poverty rate compared to other wealthy countries, despite above-average social spending.
U.S. social programs are less effective due to bureaucratic burden, restrictions, and low utilization rates.
Evidence from cash-based programs, like pandemic-era stimulus checks and the expanded child tax credit, shows they can significantly reduce poverty and improve well-being.
GiveDirectly aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of high-quality cash programs to influence government spending and policy.
The Effective Altruism community should evaluate and recommend U.S. causes to expand its impact and influence a larger portion of domestic charitable giving.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: Poverty in the U.S. causes significant suffering and death, but the social safety net is ineffective due to bureaucratic burden and restrictions; evidence suggests more accessible cash-based programs could reduce poverty and save lives.
Key points:
Poverty in the U.S. is associated with a high number of deaths each year, more than homicides, firearms, suicide, and drug overdoses.
The U.S. has a higher child mortality rate and poverty rate compared to other wealthy countries, despite above-average social spending.
U.S. social programs are less effective due to bureaucratic burden, restrictions, and low utilization rates.
Evidence from cash-based programs, like pandemic-era stimulus checks and the expanded child tax credit, shows they can significantly reduce poverty and improve well-being.
GiveDirectly aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of high-quality cash programs to influence government spending and policy.
The Effective Altruism community should evaluate and recommend U.S. causes to expand its impact and influence a larger portion of domestic charitable giving.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.