Will Take Child To Doctor For MONEY

BAMA the Village Poet - Welfare Slave
William DeVaughn - Give the Little Man a Great Big Hand
The Impressions - Don't Forget What I Told You
Horace Andy - Poor Man Style
Louis Armstrong - All That Meat and No Potatoes

Endemic poverty is rampant in New York City. It's the only heritable disease you won't find anywhere in the Human Genome Project. Manhattan, may slowly be gaining immunity over this insidious disease, but cross the rivers and you'll find it.

How is Bloomberg attempting to tackle the multi-faceted issue of endemic, multi-generational poverty?

“In the private sector, financial incentives encourage actions that are good for the company: working harder, hitting sales targets or landing more clients. In the public sector, we believe that financial incentives will encourage actions that are good for the city and its families: higher attendance in schools, more parental involvement in education and better career skills.”

Of course. To a business man, DOLLARS always make SENSE.

Are you really poor? Did your kids go to school everyday? Here's 25 dollars. Did you take your kid pass the Regents exam with an above-average score? Here's 300 dollars. Did you make an appointment for your kid to see a doctor AND keep it? Good for you, here's another check.

This upcoming year will see the inception of this curious social experiment: 2500 families will receive "conditional cash transfers" for good behavior and will be compared to 2500 families who will receive absolutely nothing (All of the funding for this experiment was garnered via private donations.).

We're all just rats in a cage, especially if we're POOR.

How will this PRIZE MONEY be spent by the families? How do the experimenters define a "success?" How do we make sense of needing cash incentives to help your own child?

YOU be the judge.