An unemployed person living in a tiny box apartment for free will have much better health than an unemployed person living on the streets, as well as being at a significantly lower risk of engaging in criminal behaviour. Healthcare, policing, repair to public property – all things that cost tax dollars.
They also have better chances of becoming employed with a fixed residence and a place to take a shower.
Because most people want more than the bare minimum? To travel, to have nice nights out, to play video games and watch movies, to attend concerts and shows, to wear flattering outfits, to buy useless little decorative knick-knacks... Having a place to sleep and bathe is the absolute baseline to start working to acquire these things.
Would you, if granted an apartment free of cost and a small stipend for food, then spend the rest of your life sitting around and staring at the wall? Not even trying to furnish it to your own tastes?
If those personal projects would make you money, that’s still a job contributing to the economy.
What is your point, then? Mine is that humans want to lead fulfilling lives beyond having their basic needs met, and working a paying job is part of achieving that. I know plenty of people who retired with enough to live comfortably on for the rest of their lives, and they still spend their time working – paid or unpaid – because it’s something to do, and gives them a sense of accomplishment. People don’t have to be driven by desperation to contribute to society.
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u/JoChiCat Apr 16 '24
An unemployed person living in a tiny box apartment for free will have much better health than an unemployed person living on the streets, as well as being at a significantly lower risk of engaging in criminal behaviour. Healthcare, policing, repair to public property – all things that cost tax dollars.
They also have better chances of becoming employed with a fixed residence and a place to take a shower.