Read it twice, see what you're driving at.

2) - Maslow's hierarchy, yup. However it's not like most humans' list of wants stops - ever. Right? Sure, I have a warm bed and I don't need to buy another one, but I sure would like a new iPhone, or laptop, or whatever. As the list goes on yes the desires must get less essential and more frivolous and eventually, it's likely a given person would reach a point at which they felt they had achieved enough even if they never did get that unicorn birthday party that costs $100k, and they can stop/maintain at the current level of income. But I don't think that stops at a warm bed. I think our society encourages us to want more, to earn more, to buy more. So just because even the vital tiers of the hierarchy might be met and satisfied by benefits, I do think people generally have an innate desire for 'more' that's also amplified by social conditioning.

3) I kind of feel that we are assuming that the impoverished who rely on gov't benefits don't have other debts or bills, like child support, legal issues, payday loans or other "non-vital" lending obligations (like credit cards). Article Basically I just don't think that the level of benefits we currently offer is significant and wide enough in order to do much except slap an off-brand bandaid on wounds that are range from "moderate" to "gushing."

I am fine with the idea of basic income, or basic housing and basic food, for each person. But - and I admit I say this without much hard numerical concept of unemployment payments, food stamps, etc - I think that these benefits often add only barely enough for struggling people and families to make it by.

Aren't there things like teenagers ready and waiting to swoop in for these vacated second jobs? A teenager generally is still a dependent and their income can be both much lower than an independent adult and can consist mostly of discretionary funds (variable, of course). I think this is dissimilar from an independently wealthy adult because of the situation - a teen has no workforce experience, so their potential jobs will be on the menial end. A teen has no work experience and therefore probably lowered standards. Etc. We could also talk about retirees who work to supplement savings etc but I think that gets closer to "independently wealthy individual" than what I am driving at here.

FWIW I am for benefits, basic housing, basic food, free and available schooling, etc, for all. But the fact that benefits might allow someone to quit a second job doesn't equate to me as occupational movement. Employer 1 can keep paying exactly what he was before. Employer 2 simply has to find someone who is willing to accept less than "enough money to feed, clothe, and maybe pay bills for" an independent unit, whether that be one person, a person with a child, whatever.

To be honest while I enjoy this conversation I mostly feel like I am fumbling around in it.