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Cash alone proves inadequate to solve the problems of the poor

A blow to the just-give-people-money theory of how to address poverty.

Without money, a broken-down car or an eviction can cascade into a job loss and other financial crises, and the stress involved can lead to health issues and other problems. FollowThis vision of poverty assistance has many virtues: It treats people with money problems as fellow citizens rather than science projects. Maybe handing people a chunk of cash that is large but still not adequate to cover all their unmet needs only creates new stress — as it forces them to decide which hole to plug in a very leaky boat.

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