Thread: Copying Mexico: NYC to reward poor for doing the right thing

New York City to Reward Poor for Doing Right Thing

By DIANE CARDWELL
Published: March 30, 2007


Seeking new solutions to New York’s vexingly high poverty rates, the city is moving ahead with an ambitious experiment that will pay poor families up to $5,000 a year to meet goals like attending parent-teacher conferences, going for a medical checkup or holding down a full-time job, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday.

Under the program, which is based on a similar effort in Mexico, parents would receive payments every two months for family members meeting any of a series of criteria. The payments could range from $25 for exemplary attendance in elementary school to $300 for a high score on an important exam, city officials said.

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The project, first announced in the fall. was scheduled to begin as a pilot program in September with 2,500 randomly selected families whose progress will be tracked against another 2,500 randomly selected families who will not get the rewards. Officials planned to draw the families from six of the poorest communities in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

To be eligible, families must have at least one child entering fourth, seventh or ninth grade and a household income of 130 percent or less of the federal poverty level, which equals roughly $20,000 for a single parent with two children.

The city has already raised $42 million of the $50 million needed to cover the initial program’s cost from private sources, including Mr. Bloomberg. If it proves successful, the mayor said, the city will attempt to create a permanent program financed by the government.

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Since Mr. Bloomberg outlined the plan last fall, reaction among antipoverty experts and advocates has been mixed, with some hailing it as an innovative approach that could become a powerful model for the rest of the country and ultimately win the support of the federal government.

Indeed, the program is being financed by several high-profile organizations, including the Rockefeller, Starr and Robin Hood Foundations, as well as the Open Society Institute and the insurance and financial firm American International Group.

The Rockefeller and Starr Foundations are donating $10 million each, while the Open Society Institute is giving $5 million and A.I.G. is donating $2 million. A spokeswoman for the Robin Hood Foundation did not return calls or an e-mail message, and Mr. Bloomberg’s spokesman, Stu Loeser, declined to say how much the mayor contributed.

Some antipoverty advocates have bristled at what they see as the condescending notion that poor people need to be told how to raise their families. Others have focused on the broader economic issues at play.

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A similar concern seems to have emerged with Mexico’s program, known as Oportunidades, which is now 10 years old, has a budget of more than $3 billion a year and covers nearly one-fourth of all Mexicans.

Intended to replace the food subsidies that had dominated much of Mexico’s antipoverty efforts, the program offers cash stipends to families to keep their children in school and take them for regular checkups. Parents must also attend regular talks on issues including health, nutrition and family planning.

Whatever happened to individual responsibility? Why should people be paid to live and raise their children to grow up and become decent civilized human beings? Like welfare, you can lead a horse to the water but you cannot make them drink. How much lower will we go?

If it worked in Mexico they would not be running off to the US. I cannot believe how stupid some politicians are.

As Mr. Rogers would say, o.k. boys and girls, can you say communism?

It's like giving a kid a quarter to eat his spinach. I wonder how many people will STOP doing the right things so they can be bribed and collect some cash. This is crazy! Paying people to hold down a full-time job......paying people to go to work. There's no good way to say it that doesn't sound insane! "Hey, how much you give me to get a job." How about you get to EAT!

He's just going to have to learn the hard way Gofer. Unfortunately, the NYC and American taxpayers have to foot the bill. I hope they show proof of citizenship before giving them $5000! This is just another magnet to bring illegals to NYC!!!


Wake up New Yorkers!!

So the message is that everyone that was doing the right thing because it was the right thing to do and not getting paid for it are just schmucks.
Again, people are being paid to do what they should do because it is the right thing to do.
So it isn't a sense of pride at being a responsible person that has any clout. It is the reward of a few bucks. Keep your money. I don't need it. Oh and exactly who will be funding this? My guess is the taxpayers. You know, the ones that are responsible and have a job and a family to feed.
What a twisted message we send to our children. Is it any wonder they are so lost and confused?