People spent the money on housing, food, and their kids — every global cash study shows this, yet the stereotype persists. The financial wellbeing boost was strong in year one, weaker by year two, and nearly gone by year three. Nobody started a business, but entrepreneurial interest surged because the labor market doesn't work for people who need flexibility. Rhodes says cash hits a wall when healthcare costs $5,000 and there's no quality childcare in your ZIP code. Jerremy Alexander Newsome and Dave Conley press her on what a senator should actually do with this data.

Timestamps:

• (00:00) What critics assume about free money – and what people actually bought
• (01:30) The most expensive stereotype – conditions on benefits cost taxpayers more
• (03:22) Parents skipped extra shifts – investing in their kid's confidence instead
• (06:37) Entrepreneurship interest surged – but almost nobody launched anything
• (08:23) The boost that vanished – financial wellbeing fading by year three
• (11:31) What she'd tell a senator – the one design choice that matters most
• (14:32) Cash can't climb these walls – no childcare, no insurance, no credit score
• (16:04) The Rise study – why she stopped asking \"does cash work?\"
• (18:25) Steel-manning her own study – the strongest critique she'd make herself

Connect:

• Dr. Elizabeth Rhodes – Website

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