Philadelphia paying women to get pregnant have babies

[mike]

This is certainly not only for the "poor" given the income limit is $100,000 for a family of 4

I saw that. The 2023 federal poverty guideline for a family of 4 is $30,000.

[HondurasKeiser]

If you think this program is overly generous, take a look at what they're moving ahead with in San Francisco:

San Francisco Board of Supervisors backs $5M reparations to every black resident: A city-appointed reparations panel brought their proposal to the Board this week and was met with unanimous support. The reparations plan includes “$5 million to every eligible Black adult, the elimination of personal debt and tax burdens, guaranteed annual incomes of at least $97,000 for 250 years and homes in San Francisco for just $1 a family.” The reparations panel now continues its work and will return with a final proposal in June...The plan would cost an estimated $600,000 per household.

https://apnews.com/article/san-francisc ... dium=email

[Josh]

Overall, I think it’s very toxic to pay people to get pregnant out of wedlock. (Since this program is race based, let’s be frank about racial disparities: 79% of black people choose to have children out of wedlock. White pellets are 50% and Asians are lower.)

If they really care about improving infant and newborn health, they should be promoting marriage.

[Josh]

If you think this program is overly generous, take a look at what they're moving ahead with in San Francisco:

San Francisco Board of Supervisors backs $5M reparations to every black resident: A city-appointed reparations panel brought their proposal to the Board this week and was met with unanimous support. The reparations plan includes “$5 million to every eligible Black adult, the elimination of personal debt and tax burdens, guaranteed annual incomes of at least $97,000 for 250 years and homes in San Francisco for just $1 a family.” The reparations panel now continues its work and will return with a final proposal in June...The plan would cost an estimated $600,000 per household.

https://apnews.com/article/san-francisc ... dium=email

California-wide is a more modest proposal to grant around $250,000 to people who sufficiently black, from Gov. Newsom.

For the record, I am against government preferences based entirely on skin colour.

[RZehr]

$18,000 to be precise

Philly gets closer to launching $1,000-a-month cash assistance program for pregnant residents to improve health outcomes

I think it is terrible that the country has come to this - meaning in terms of morals that single mothers have become so common place that the government is stepping in. And that families are so broken that extended families cannot/will not take care of the single mother. And that people do not go to churches, and churches do not step in and help these single mothers meet their needs. And that the economy is such that a man cannot even meet his wife and families needs by working and his wife staying at home.

But given that this is the case, if this meets a critical need, I'm for it.

Well, it's not a new government program. It is a one-time experimental trial to see if it actually accomplishes anything. Presumably the results will be public and peer reviewed and then we will have a better idea if this sort of program is worth the cost or not. It is probably the kind of thing we should do with more government programs.

What is the exact difference between a new government program, and a one time experimental trial (operated by the government)?
Is it not new? Is it not governmental? Is it not a program?

[Ken]

The idea that money improves health is an odd one.

Actually it isn't.

[Ken]

I think it is terrible that the country has come to this - meaning in terms of morals that single mothers have become so common place that the government is stepping in. And that families are so broken that extended families cannot/will not take care of the single mother. And that people do not go to churches, and churches do not step in and help these single mothers meet their needs. And that the economy is such that a man cannot even meet his wife and families needs by working and his wife staying at home.

But given that this is the case, if this meets a critical need, I'm for it.

Well, it's not a new government program. It is a one-time experimental trial to see if it actually accomplishes anything. Presumably the results will be public and peer reviewed and then we will have a better idea if this sort of program is worth the cost or not. It is probably the kind of thing we should do with more government programs.

What is the exact difference between a new government program, and a one time experimental trial (operated by the government)?
Is it not new? Is it not governmental? Is it not a program?

It's not a government program. Not all pregnant women in Philly get the money. Only a test population. So it would be more properly labeled a government study. If the results are excellent and it becomes a budget priority then it might become a government program. But we are a long ways away from that at this point.

[RZehr]

I find your quibbling here very odd and curious. A “thing” can’t simultaneously be a “program” and a “trial” or “limited”? Is that it?

[mike]

It's not a government program. Not all pregnant women in Philly get the money. Only a test population. So it would be more properly labeled a government study. If the results are excellent and it becomes a budget priority then it might become a government program. But we are a long ways away from that at this point.

It's run by Philadelphia's city government, and funded by donations from a couple of orgs that probably receive government funding. I'd call it a pilot government program that is very likely to become permanent if implemented.

Philadelphia leaders and city health officials said they need to raise a total of $6 million to get the local program started. Donations have so far been made by the William Penn Foundation and Spring Point Partners.

[joshuabgood]

While I have misgivings about programs like this, I'd rather spend money on this than missiles to blow things up and kill people halfway around the world, or oil or big ag or big pharma subsidies.