Specific to the welfare/UBI/public benefits subthread of this (with a digression):
I saw the phrase "middle class solution to lower class problem ['MCSLCP']" applied to stuff like this years ago; that characterisation is possibly not politically correct today. It was discussing various forms of 'credit fine print' --- the ad for "Buy this recliner today, no interest, no payments for three months!!!" ... followed by five lines of fine print at the bottom of the ad (likely double the verbiage of this posting) about need to pay promptly, the upfront fees, etc etc, and the (somewhat usurious) rates and fees payable if the process wasn't followed to the letter.
What makes it 'MCSLCP' is that for a large percentage of the population that would look at this, if you have the time / savvy to assess the deal and make it work, you probably have better credit options available. [1]
It's super easy to comply with the terms if you have a personal organization system ('tickler') that works. Maintaining that system is really tough if you're a single parent/double job trying to keep the ship afloat... and also to have the funds to keep the deal working on the day that the tickler is triggered.
But the 'MCS' of the MCSLCP is, just buy it with the cash-back credit card, and pay the balance in full before the due date. Easy percentage, and you already do that as part of the monthly bill-payment chore.
For the vendor, the deal is a moneymaker since the majority of the takers will not (be able to) comply with the letter of the terms, and the fees and rates become the profit.
The public benefit aspect is that, the space to screw it up and lose the benefits is politically a feature, not a bug. The legislators can paint themselves as guardians of the public purse and the people who blew the cliff as thwarted welfare cheats.
[1] if I could 'ping' patio11 on this... I think some recent posts from 'bits about money' are in the same area as this.
I saw the phrase "middle class solution to lower class problem ['MCSLCP']" applied to stuff like this years ago; that characterisation is possibly not politically correct today. It was discussing various forms of 'credit fine print' --- the ad for "Buy this recliner today, no interest, no payments for three months!!!" ... followed by five lines of fine print at the bottom of the ad (likely double the verbiage of this posting) about need to pay promptly, the upfront fees, etc etc, and the (somewhat usurious) rates and fees payable if the process wasn't followed to the letter.
What makes it 'MCSLCP' is that for a large percentage of the population that would look at this, if you have the time / savvy to assess the deal and make it work, you probably have better credit options available. [1]
It's super easy to comply with the terms if you have a personal organization system ('tickler') that works. Maintaining that system is really tough if you're a single parent/double job trying to keep the ship afloat... and also to have the funds to keep the deal working on the day that the tickler is triggered.
But the 'MCS' of the MCSLCP is, just buy it with the cash-back credit card, and pay the balance in full before the due date. Easy percentage, and you already do that as part of the monthly bill-payment chore.
For the vendor, the deal is a moneymaker since the majority of the takers will not (be able to) comply with the letter of the terms, and the fees and rates become the profit.
The public benefit aspect is that, the space to screw it up and lose the benefits is politically a feature, not a bug. The legislators can paint themselves as guardians of the public purse and the people who blew the cliff as thwarted welfare cheats.
[1] if I could 'ping' patio11 on this... I think some recent posts from 'bits about money' are in the same area as this.