> Basic income is a waste of money -- a stack of clothing, a toothbrush and deodorant, 3 meals a day and a bed to sleep in could be provided
If it's saving money you're worried about, just giving them the money is probably a lot more efficient. Whatever that crap you listed is worth? Give them the cash instead, let them handle the logistics of buying it (or buying something else they need, a determination they're in a much better position to make than you are), and save the substantial amount of money involved in having an entire apparatus for handing out crap.
That's certainly not the ONLY idea. There are a seemingly infinite number of reasons why people want to avoid just giving poor people money, and many of them are well-intentioned.
The problem is that people don't even attempt an objective assessment of the impact of doing things one way versus the impact of doing things another way. It's more common to assess a plan based on "how does this jive with the ideology I've taken on for myself?" or to use a simple judgment based on aesthetics.
I suppose that, from an economic stand-point, the poor would benefit more from the same amount in money.
However the benefit isn't necesarilly what we care about, in this case at least I am much more interested in avoiding the failure mode where they stay on wellfare because it is nicer than getting a job.
No, actually the idea is to avoid the failure mode where people go on wellfare because it is better than to have a job while at the same time avoidng the failure mode where people starve and the failure mode where people don't have an incentive to work (which is what we have now, sadly).
If it's saving money you're worried about, just giving them the money is probably a lot more efficient. Whatever that crap you listed is worth? Give them the cash instead, let them handle the logistics of buying it (or buying something else they need, a determination they're in a much better position to make than you are), and save the substantial amount of money involved in having an entire apparatus for handing out crap.