Social Safety Net

The state of America's social safety net

In a wealthy society it is morally repugnant to allow any citizen to fall below a minimum standard of living. Unfortunately, many still argue that without the incentive of dying in the street to encourage us to take on jobs, the majority of people would choose a minimum standard of living over of any attempts to better themselves.

While this dim view of human nature is demonstrably false, perverse incentives do exist when means-tested safety net benefits are phased out in a way that entry-level employment causes significant net loss of income when the value of those benefits is considered. This is why modern best practices prefer universal safety net benefits like universal basic income and universal health care.

Social Safety Nets Through History

The dual instincts for altruism and self-preservation have led to the creation of social safety nets throughout history. As society grows and complexifies, the minimum acceptable standard of living provided by these safety nets gets higher, and it requires larger institutions to ensure that nobody falls through the cracks.

The Family

The original unit of social cohesion and reciprocity is the family. It is still the most important factor in modern society to ensure that you avoid the worst forms of poverty and suffering. Unfortunately, family bonds are losing their traditional importance, and an increasing number of people go through life without this safety net. The trend towards cutting off family members over political differences and unforgiven arguments is likely to have unintended negative consequences in this regard. [1][2]

The Tribe

The tribe is the basic unit of ancient society. Members of the tribe do whatever they can for other tribe members. It's pretty much built-in. You can't not help the other tribe members since you see them all every day.

The Community

Community is used here to describe organized, multi-generational, values-based community organizations. For 99% of history this has taken the form of some kind of religion, though mutual aid societies, unions, and fraternities are also communities also fit that description, and tend to pitch in whenever a member is struggling. Churches were the original GoFundMe. If a member was sick or had a family member struggling with addiction, unemployment, or mental health issues, the other members would pitch in to help with child care duties, cooking, bills, and other responsibilities until they were back on their feet.

Many conservatives see the state as undermining these communities. If you can just get food benefits from the government, why should the church do its annual food drive? If you can just get healthcare from the government, why would you need the healing power of prayer? How will they be able to use shelters and addiction treatment programs to proselytize if the government makes those services easily available to anyone who needs them? They hear stories about how past generations used to pitch in and help and think that it's a necessary part of rebuilding our communities. This reinforces their libertarian preferences, where the state is the enemy and any attempts to use state power to help people who might otherwise come to them is opposed.

The State

The modern state is so large and complex, with so many overlapping communities and people who move between them, that it is no longer possible for people to rely on stable local community bonds to provide a reliable social safety net. There are simply too many opportunities for people to fall through the cracks. This is especially true in a multicultural society, where there is no guarantee that there will be an appropriate community to join in any given place. It was all great times when people used to get together to raise a barn, but those days are over for anyone who doesn't want to fully live like the Amish. [3]

As the wealth of society grows, the state should continually seek ways to improve the minimum quality of life for all of its citizens.

Social Safety Nets on the YouTubes

Videos highlighting the role of social safety nets and ways we can improve them.

The Role of Social Safety Nets

A Plan to Transform Access to the Social Safety Net

Waylon Jennings - Working Without a Net