ladybug
Putting my NIMBY hat on as well to add. There’s another component that if people realize they can get their groceries for free at their local store, why would they go to the side that asks you to pay? Obviously this would be a net positive as more people in need will have access, but there will be some not-in-need who will take advantage. Grocery stores tend to have thin margins, so this may make a formerly profitable store unprofitable, which may reduce quality or shutter stores.
There were also instances where deceased people were misrepresented as still living so relatives could collect on their pension. When the government began cracking down and the numbers corrected, the reported population of extreme elderly shrank. Obviously it isn’t the only reason, but it may have some impact.
Example of the above:
In the lead up to the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar, the government published a formal list of every recognized ethnic group in the country to specifically exclude the Rohingya. This allowed them to paint the group as “illegal immigrants from Bangladesh” (despite having been in the country for centuries), remove their citizenship and thus their rights to education and work.
Link about the 1982 citizenship law: https://burmacampaign.org.uk/media/Myanmar’s-1982-Citizenship-Law-and-Rohingya.pdf
I started on Lemmy.world, but found mander.xyz as a backup. Mander.xyz is smaller and has interesting science and nature content on Local without lots of negativity. It also federates with a lot of subs (including both beehaw and Lemmy.world) so I can still see everything in All.
Does anyone have a non paywalled version or the article text?