Welfare Innovation: A Proposal

Government support and infrastructure for social innovation has become, and will continue to be, an increasing priority and point of interest at any level of government structure, this much is clear to anyone paying attention. With the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation and the Social Innovation Fund established under the Obama administration, federal support for social innovation efforts is more available to those who may need it than ever before. These support systems send a message to innovators and entrepreneurs that their work is valuable and even necessary to our modern society. But still some enterprises still have trouble with funding, for a variety of reasons. But also with any sort of question of money, the issue of equity and inequality arises, where there is often a certain amount of privilege associated with being able to work towards establishing a social venture. So what can government structures do to improve an equity of access to social innovation creation? A proposal I have would require some innovation of the government itself.



Consider our current structure for welfare, and how it often becomes a contentious issue; what if the government were to turn this structure on its ear and instead of offer a simple sum of money to recipients, they were to give a money for a solid investment in a social venture for the recipient to build and run. This would theoretically doubly enhance the personal wealth of the recipient and the social wealth of the world around them. This is similar to the idea of a conditional cash transfer, which gives money to families who fulfill certain requirements, such as their children attending and staying in school, and builds their wealth based on this positive actions by recipients. In this sense, recipients would have a choice if they would like the conventional welfare check, or investment money for this person to possibly change the world.



Were this to be successfully implemented, the positive effects would be immense. This would theoretically provide a sense of financial empowerment to the person involved in the program that they would have no inkling of if they simply received a welfare subsidy and then began a job. They would be creating their own job, own wealth and own personal sense of sustainability. And this empowerment would not only reach an individual level, but also at a regional economic development level, where these ventures could help spread wealth and empowerment across their community. This program would also expand the reach of possibilities of innovation to corners yet untapped, which could propel the innovation of the future in ways we can only imagine. This whole idea would test the words of Muhammad Yunus, “All people are entrepreneurs, but many don’t have the opportunity to find that out.”



There would be some nuances to this idea, however; and possibly some negative outcomes that one must consider before seriously implementing such as solution. This would first be a choice, as an alternative to welfare. It might be encouraged but not required. There would have to be somewhat of a vetting process for which recipients would be funded, and consistent monitoring and evaluation of how the money is being used, which could cost tax dollars. There would have to be limits to funds and times funded; many ventures inevitably fail, but repeat failures may have to be capped at some point. And there is that shadow of possible failure in these ventures, there would have to be support for those that do fail. Considering those who would use this program, a failed venture could devastate a family, and there would have to be support in case of this.