Or just give them no-strings-attached digital cash (ie some sort of credit card) and track it to learn about what people do when unsupervised. I will admit to being an optimist, but my understanding is that there's a history of paternal policy being oversimplistic, and of people solving their own problems in clever and unexpected ways when given the latitude to do so :)
While I can appreciate the optimism, I think it's important that we get this right (which might or might not be my idea).
Think about all the payday loan places. They're everywhere. Think about all the credit card debt (among other excess debts). Note that a lot of people with credit card debt make much more than any basic income would be. Think about how much the poor (who do not have luxury of wasting money) spend on cars, cigarettes, and TVs. With all these things in your head, do you still think that people will manage the money well if you just hand them money? Will they handle money that they didn't work for better than they handle the money they did work for?
Sure, some of it will go to good purposes. Why not make most of it go towards good purposes?
And to be clear, I'm not just trying to blame the poor - good money management is psychologically hard.
It's much more important that we get this right (as Ontarians). Sweeping generalisations like yours about 'the poor' are largely unwelcome here, and also a driving force for the incredible level of inequality in your country.
There are government systems in place to provide housing, food, and more already. The idea is to replace these many systems with one, which would reduce the occurrence of people who need benefits being denied, and also dramatically reduce administrative overhead.
The overall goal is not just to raise people from poverty, it's also to allow people a break from working to survive so they can take time to focus on personal development, family and mental health.
