THINGS THAT OUGHT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE QUESTION ABOVE:
People who inherit money and do nothing to contribute...is that okay?
People who marry into it and do nothing to contribute...is that okay?
People able to grift others into giving money to them and do nothing to contribute...is that okay?
How do we set a standard for what "contributing" means?
Do female and male prostitutes "contribute" enough and in a way that makes them okay?
I'd start by far more serious 'means testing' for any sort of government aid. Then I'd offer--even if they're government subsidized--them simple, manual labor jobs anyone could do no matter how stupid that involve hard work. Turn it down, and you get no government assistance of any kind.
So it would be okay with you to have our government essentially condemn people to starve or freeze to death? You would not consider that too barbaric?
Okay, that is certainly a stance to be advocated...one that I would vigorously opose...one I would vote against if advocated by a political party. But I accept there are others (who may be a majority) would would vote for it. I would vote for euthanasia rather than that.
Next, make public camping on sidewalks, squatting, etc., a low-level felony for first offense.
Okay, also a stance to be advocated...and my reply would be the same as above. Essentially that would be condemning people to starve or freeze to death...and I would prefer euthanasia to that.
Next, if you are on welfare of any kind, you are expected to take classes to get a GED (if you don't have one), then basic skills classes, then trade classes and you will pass them with sufficient levels of proof that you actually learned the material or you get nothing.
If a person won't work with any of this, they go to prison and work there.
I know of people who would never be able to obtain a GED certificate. By the way, I did not graduate from high school (quit in my senior year to join the Air Force...and earned a GED equivalence while in service. I have since graduated from college with a BA in Economics and Philosophy...and done all the work for an MA in Industrial psychology but never completed the dissertation.)
I would not want to put people into prison for being stupid...or lazy.
I'd be fine with them being put in labor units, given shovels and such to do some endless, mindless, task that in years will have actual purpose. Their lives would be heavily regimented, they'd be fed inexpensive, boring food two or three times a day, but they'd work. Refusal and you go to prison to work there.
Okay, if doing mindless work like digging holes and filling them in is something you would vote for...I understand. I would never do so.
Most lazy would simply go with the flow to avoid the hassle. That's been true for like forever.
Most lazy people end up harming productivity no matter what. That also has been true for a very long time.
One thing is certain, paying them to do nothing is not an answer.
Well, I am not sure we would "pay: them (get them food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and a few amenities) to do nothing. We would be "paying" them for doing the one thing they are good at...staying the hell out of the way. Not harming productivity.
But I understand people like you who might not agree with that.
Thanks for discussing this with me, T. A.. It is a complex, potentially fraught problem.
Question, if I may: Do you see that having EVERYONE work might cause productivity problems because in order to provide jobs for humans...we might have to take jobs away from much more productive machines? Any thoughts on that?